Yes, it was hinted that the YF-24 was a part of the fly off/competition for the Navy's tactical air fighter program that took place right after USAF ATF fly off. However for some reason(beurocracy) Navy decided to buy SuperHornets instead of totally new design.
YF-24 article
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Tytanium_0620
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Ok, here's what I've tried to piece together so far. This is taken "assuming" that the story https://www.dreamlandresort.com/forum/messages/18578.html is in fact trustworthy and correct, but this is juts a possible interpretation.
The MRF-24 was a test design done by Boeing leading up to the JSF program, due to its similarities with the X-32. This model has nothing to do with the YF-24 prototype.
The user in said forum claims to have worked on the YF-24 back in 1990, which means by that point, the F-22 and F-23 designations were taken up already by Northrop and Lockheed. This early 90s development period makes sense - the USSR collapsing would make a fifth-gen stealth fighter seem unimportant and not necessary, which is a decision that cut the F-22s production run short, resulting in <200 aircraft instead of the original 750.
The USAF wanted to replace the F-15C, that was the point of the ATF in the first place. With the potential of the ATF being cancelled, the USAF was scared they wouldn't get their F-15C replacement, and so contracted McDonnell Douglas to come up with a replacement that had comparable performance to the F-22/23, with the exclusion of stealth.
The user references seeing a picture of this YF-24, which was really an F-15 with backwards wings and strakes near the front of the intakes. While this image is fake, the user said it looked almost identical to the real thing. They were called out because they claimed they had an "untrained eye" and should know what the real thing looked like since they worked on it. However, the user most likely meant untrained in terms of what looks fake and what looks real, which wasn't too much of a common skill in 2006 when the post was created.
The YF-24 was most likely based off of the F-15, but because of its wings was too different to be called another variant. The user also states that the prototype was nicknamed "Eagle II", much like the F-15EX today. In 2006, the F-15EX was probably not even a concept yet, so that nickname could not have been here to create a fake story. Or it's just coincidence that the replacement for the F-15C today has the same nickname as it's potential replacement in the 1990s, and a random forum post in 2006.
The MRF-24 was a test design done by Boeing leading up to the JSF program, due to its similarities with the X-32. This model has nothing to do with the YF-24 prototype.
The user in said forum claims to have worked on the YF-24 back in 1990, which means by that point, the F-22 and F-23 designations were taken up already by Northrop and Lockheed. This early 90s development period makes sense - the USSR collapsing would make a fifth-gen stealth fighter seem unimportant and not necessary, which is a decision that cut the F-22s production run short, resulting in <200 aircraft instead of the original 750.
The USAF wanted to replace the F-15C, that was the point of the ATF in the first place. With the potential of the ATF being cancelled, the USAF was scared they wouldn't get their F-15C replacement, and so contracted McDonnell Douglas to come up with a replacement that had comparable performance to the F-22/23, with the exclusion of stealth.
The user references seeing a picture of this YF-24, which was really an F-15 with backwards wings and strakes near the front of the intakes. While this image is fake, the user said it looked almost identical to the real thing. They were called out because they claimed they had an "untrained eye" and should know what the real thing looked like since they worked on it. However, the user most likely meant untrained in terms of what looks fake and what looks real, which wasn't too much of a common skill in 2006 when the post was created.
The YF-24 was most likely based off of the F-15, but because of its wings was too different to be called another variant. The user also states that the prototype was nicknamed "Eagle II", much like the F-15EX today. In 2006, the F-15EX was probably not even a concept yet, so that nickname could not have been here to create a fake story. Or it's just coincidence that the replacement for the F-15C today has the same nickname as it's potential replacement in the 1990s, and a random forum post in 2006.
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Whisperstream
I really should change my personal text
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Lanni flew ten different classified aircraft during his career and made "first flights" in two of them. One of those first flights took place in the spring of 1997. Over the span of several months, he made about a dozen flights in that airplane to evaluate performance and flying qualities. I strongly suspect that this was the YF-24 but I have no definitive proof.
He flew a number of Red Hats aircraft, so I can't say with absolute certainty that the YF-24 was not a foreign asset. However, it somehow just doesn't "feel" like it.
We need more data.
He flew a number of Red Hats aircraft, so I can't say with absolute certainty that the YF-24 was not a foreign asset. However, it somehow just doesn't "feel" like it.
We need more data.
Check out the Jabara award winner for 1990, Wikipedia could be wrong/right
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabara_Award
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabara_Award
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Lanni involved in an inflight emergency October 31, 1990, 3246th Test Wing, Elgin AFB, Florida. This would have occurred a few years before he went to Edwards and to Groom Lake:
Suffered a structural failure during a flight test (flutter tests) from Eglin AFB, Florida. The test was to assess the structural integrity of the F-16 while carrying a load of 6 AMRAAM's. The aircraft was flying inverted at 2,000 feet above the Gulf of Mexico with an airspeed of Mach 1.2. The pilot noticed a serious problem with the aircraft and rolled it back to level flight, but experienced a very hard time to keep it levelled. The left flaperon was sticking up like a sharp fin in the airflow and rudder was also missing from the aircraft. The pilot, Captain Joseph A. Lanni, gained control of the aircraft and checked its controllability. Captain Lanni brought the aircraft back to Eglin AFB with no further problems, mainly because he was already lined up with the runway and the fact that the chase-plane (F-4) pilot kept telling him to stick with it. The pilot had to keep 25 lbs of constant pressure to the stick to keep the aircraft straight. The aircraft was repaired afterwards. Maintainers believe the rudder imploded from delamination since they never found a piece of it anywhere.
Suffered a structural failure during a flight test (flutter tests) from Eglin AFB, Florida. The test was to assess the structural integrity of the F-16 while carrying a load of 6 AMRAAM's. The aircraft was flying inverted at 2,000 feet above the Gulf of Mexico with an airspeed of Mach 1.2. The pilot noticed a serious problem with the aircraft and rolled it back to level flight, but experienced a very hard time to keep it levelled. The left flaperon was sticking up like a sharp fin in the airflow and rudder was also missing from the aircraft. The pilot, Captain Joseph A. Lanni, gained control of the aircraft and checked its controllability. Captain Lanni brought the aircraft back to Eglin AFB with no further problems, mainly because he was already lined up with the runway and the fact that the chase-plane (F-4) pilot kept telling him to stick with it. The pilot had to keep 25 lbs of constant pressure to the stick to keep the aircraft straight. The aircraft was repaired afterwards. Maintainers believe the rudder imploded from delamination since they never found a piece of it anywhere.
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Yes, this is correct. Gabreski was the recipient for 1990 (see bottom left corner with photo). I do not know why Lanni's bio had him as recipient, however he may have been a nominee.
Scott Kenny
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How long did it take him to remove his butt from the seat?
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As far as anyone knows, not very long as he was involved in three more mishaps and it still didn't scare him away while testing the F-16C (sn 83123) at Eglin.
