Compared to an actual ADC, though, TF falls flat on his face. He has no escape outside of SS, so if he is jumped on he is dead. Sure he has his gold card, but even with that, most other ADC's can still kill him through it in a 1v1. As an ADC, TF is basically all the bad aspects of an ADC with none of the positives. His only upside is he can do okayish in some 1v1 matchups(though this doesn't make him an ADC imo) and his ult gives him good map presence.
AP TF is superior just because he can delete people and burst hard. If TF actually has the ability to AA without being aggressed onto, you can almost play ANY champion that is ranged and you are fine. AP TF lets you burst and get out, giving you a lot more safety by having to expose yourself to danger less. His Q also chunks hard, giving him good waveclear and poke.