Message posted by Peter Merlin on August 26, 2010 at 16:30:23 PST:
Back in 2000 there was some debate about the nature of the YF-113G. Its existence was first revealed in the official USAF biography of Col. Dennis F. Sager. According to the information provided, Sager "was handpicked as the first commander of a classified flight test squadron where he led a classified prototype aircraft from design to first flight" and that he was "the first Air Force pilot to fly the YF-113G, a classified prototype." While no specific dates were mentioned, these events appear to have taken place in the early 1990s. The wording of the description seems unequivocally to indicate a brand new airplane and not one of the numerous foreign types using the YF-11X designations (MiG-21F-13/YF-110B, MiG-23MS/YF-113E, MiG-17PF/YF-114D, etc.). On the other hand, Sager's bio indicates that he was assigned to the 6513th Test Squadron "Red Hats" and flew the YF-112, YF-113B, and YF-113E and these aircraft are routinely referred to as "classified prototypes." While the wording in his bio also makes it sound like his next assignment was separate from his Red Hats activities, it has recently come to light that another Red Hats pilot flew the YF-113G during the early 1990s. This seems to muddy the waters a little. I was the first person to insist that the YF-113G was most likely not a foreign aircraft type. Those words, "from design to first flight," seemed quite clear. My original hypothesis may yet prove accurate but I will also be the first to admit that I may have jumped the gun. Only time will tell.
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