Photo: Code 1 Aviation
The only sin the Northrop F-5 twin-engined light fighter ever committed was serving in the shadow of the F-4 Phantom II, the F-15 Eagle, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. A remarkably quick and agile twin-engine land fighter, F-5 did at least have a prolific career outside of the U.S.
The type would go on to fight in the Air Forces of Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, and Malaysia, among others. But here in the States, only one squadron of the USAF still operates the type as a mock aggressor squadron. The remaining domestic F-5s are in the domain of the private market, just like this 1968 F-5A, serial number N685TC, for sale via Code 1 Aviation in Rockford, Illinois.
Produced from 1959 until at least the early 70s, the F-5A was a different breed of fighter. One that valued light weight, a superb thrust-to-weight ratio, and a maneuverability factor rivaled by few other military jets in the world over raw power and size. Even today, later variants like the F-5E and F-5F Tiger II are still impressive in this way. Albeit, while being pretty much useless as a multirole strike aircraft. It's a likely explanation why the U.S. Air Force never bothered with them in nearly the same way they did other domestic jet fighters.
Whatever the case, this F-5A's twin General Electric J-85 engines are industry stalwarts. Everything from the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly to the Scaled Composites White Night spacecraft mothership and even the Lockheed Have Blue tech demonstrator for the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter used it to great effect. The Boom Technologies XB-1 supersonic demonstrator is due to use an afterburning J-85 similar to the same one in this F-5 sometime in either late 2022 or early 2023.
We're happy to say the rest of the airplane, other than the engines, is meticulously and beautifully restored. Complete with a full array of avionics and navigation equipment from reputable companies like Collins, Raytheon, and Bendix. So then, an asking price of $950,000, or $49,000 less than a limited-edition Ferrari 599 convertible we found for sale recently, that's a heck of a deal. We can only wonder what the service bill would look like compared to the Ferrari.
Produced from 1959 until at least the early 70s, the F-5A was a different breed of fighter. One that valued light weight, a superb thrust-to-weight ratio, and a maneuverability factor rivaled by few other military jets in the world over raw power and size. Even today, later variants like the F-5E and F-5F Tiger II are still impressive in this way. Albeit, while being pretty much useless as a multirole strike aircraft. It's a likely explanation why the U.S. Air Force never bothered with them in nearly the same way they did other domestic jet fighters.
Whatever the case, this F-5A's twin General Electric J-85 engines are industry stalwarts. Everything from the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly to the Scaled Composites White Night spacecraft mothership and even the Lockheed Have Blue tech demonstrator for the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter used it to great effect. The Boom Technologies XB-1 supersonic demonstrator is due to use an afterburning J-85 similar to the same one in this F-5 sometime in either late 2022 or early 2023.
We're happy to say the rest of the airplane, other than the engines, is meticulously and beautifully restored. Complete with a full array of avionics and navigation equipment from reputable companies like Collins, Raytheon, and Bendix. So then, an asking price of $950,000, or $49,000 less than a limited-edition Ferrari 599 convertible we found for sale recently, that's a heck of a deal. We can only wonder what the service bill would look like compared to the Ferrari.
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