WI The X-27 Lancer went into service with the USAF?

Another question we might ask is how the Lancer might do against the Northrop N-102 design mock-up which preceded the F-5/T-38. A light-weight aircraft with single J-79, the N-102 was dropped in favor of the then-new twin J-85 which would be lighter still. The Lockheed design shared one characteristic with the N-102 in that both didn't look quite good enough to waste metal on, although performance estimates were promising enough. If we were to evaluate aircraft purely on performance estimates, we'd all be shaving with Mach Three razors which could only reach Mach 1.8.

I would rather not shave with a razor moving at Mach 1.8, let alone Mach 3. I'd like to keep my face, thank you very much.
 
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