This aircraft may look like an F A-18 Hornet at first glance. In reality, it is the YF-17, the predecessor to the F A-18. There were only two YF-17 aircraft ever built. Ship 1, serial number 72-1569, rests on display at the Western Museum of Flight in Torrance, California (shown above). The YF-17 was designed with the Air Force in mind, not the Navy as the F A-18 would eventually serve. She was built for competitive prototyping flyoff called Lightweight Fighter Program (LWF). In this flyoff, the YF-17 was required to perform a series of superso ... More >>