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The Outrageous Adolescence of the F-16
Air & Space Magazine ^ | March 2014 | Eileen Bjorkman

Posted on 01/31/2014 8:56:27 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki

UCK! A smokin’ hot F-16CM from the Air Force’s Viper East demonstration team has you in its sights. The jet performed at a 2011 Florida airshow. (SURESH A. ATAPATTU)

The Viper was small, fast, and in your face.

his is the story of two brothers, who happen to be airplanes. The older brother, the F-15 Eagle, entered the world fully formed, and his doting parents—the U.S. Air Force—nurtured him and quickly forgave minor transgressions. The younger brother, the F-16, was born prematurely, with no name, and scrambled to catch up. At a rollout ceremony on December 13, 1973, in Fort Worth, Texas, the YF-16 faced its skeptics and a few champions with a gaudy red, white, and blue paint job. After the ceremony, the airplane was flown on a C-5 to Edwards Air Force Base in California to prepare for its first flight.

On January 20, 1974, during a high-speed taxi test, General Dynamics test pilot Phil Oestricher applied what he thought were small control-stick inputs in the standard method used to check the airplane’s roll response. However, in response to the pilot’s input, the control stick in the YF-16, mounted on the right instead of the customary center, didn’t actually move. Instead, it measured the pressures exer

(Excerpt) Read more at airspacemag.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aerospace; f16; generaldynamics; lawndart; lockheedmartin

1 posted on 01/31/2014 8:56:27 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: Jet Jaguar

Ping.


2 posted on 01/31/2014 9:03:48 PM PST by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Army Air Corps; Sparky1776; militant2; TaMoDee; freedumb2003; PERKY2004

F-16 ping.


3 posted on 01/31/2014 9:05:52 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
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To: Jet Jaguar
F-6 picture ping.


4 posted on 01/31/2014 9:33:01 PM PST by UCANSEE2 (I forgot what my tagline was supposed to say)
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To: UCANSEE2

Stupid keyboard.

F-16


5 posted on 01/31/2014 9:33:43 PM PST by UCANSEE2 (I forgot what my tagline was supposed to say)
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To: Jet Jaguar

I get to see and hear these every day.
As we say here, it is the sound of Freedom.

I really like getting where they take off and fly right over me, low and with the after-burner lit. It is really fun to watch.


6 posted on 01/31/2014 9:58:44 PM PST by KC Burke (Officially since Memorial Day they are the Gimmie-crat Party.ha)
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To: sukhoi-30mki
Like a motorcycle in the sky.


7 posted on 01/31/2014 10:18:55 PM PST by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: UCANSEE2
Here's an F-6.

8 posted on 01/31/2014 11:01:39 PM PST by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: KC Burke

Spent two years living a quarter mile from the runway with two squadron’s of these. Was there for one event where they had 32 of them taking off in pairs. Pretty cool


9 posted on 02/01/2014 1:41:38 AM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

bookmark


10 posted on 02/01/2014 5:08:08 AM PST by SunTzuWu
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To: OneWingedShark

Thanks.

Cool. in it’s own right.


11 posted on 02/01/2014 8:52:37 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (I forgot what my tagline was supposed to say)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

hands down sexiest jet ever. Sorry F-22.


12 posted on 02/01/2014 9:18:41 AM PST by slouper
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To: Jet Jaguar

*spoiler alert!* ;)

Who would have guessed that the F-16 project directly led to the AMRAAM as a weight-reduction measure?

This entire story is riveting and just reinforces what we all know — the F-16 is the best damn MRF ever seen and until we have anti-grav might own that forever.


13 posted on 02/02/2014 3:54:00 PM PST by freedumb2003 (Fight Tapinophobia in all its forms! Do not submit to arduus privilege.)
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