Here on the Afterburner Club, we obviously talk a lot about the latest 5th generation fighters, the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II. We’ve even talked quite a bit lately about upgraded versions of 4th and even 3rd generation jets such as the F-15SA, the A-10 Warthog, and T-38 trainers.
But today, I’d like to take some time to talk about one of my all-time favorite air frames: Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Fighting Falcon (known better today as the ‘Viper’.) The versatile fighter has been the poster jet for the Air Forces of not only the United States, but also NATO and many other U.S. allied nations. There’s a really good reason for this…few planes have proven as adaptable to the ever-changing missions of military operations. The F-16 often gets overlooked, largely due to its age, small size, and single-engine. Our own boys in the U.S. Air Force and other services call it a “lawndart”, but I’ll tell you, this little lawndart gets the job done.
The F-16 started out in the 1970’s as a lightweight air-to-air fighter (basically, a smaller and cheaper version of the F-15 Eagle.) But the small fighter had proven itself with several technological innovations of the time. These included a fly-by-wire control system not unlike that used on the space shuttles, a pilot seat tilted back at a 30-degree angle to help the pilot deal with g-forces, and the bubble canopy. The fly-by-wire controls were particularly helpful in selling the plane to the service. The F-16 was probably the very first airplane that was deliberately designed to be inherently unstable.
Yeah! You read that right! Delibrately designed that way!
Why in the world would an aircraft manufacturer want to design an unstable aircraft? On purpose, no less?
Well, the computerized flight control system of the F-16 had a lot to do with that. It was very much like the human body in a way. You know how the body has both voluntary and involuntary nerve impulses. The voluntary ones control those things that you consciously think about doing, such as getting up, eating, walking, talking, or working.
The involuntary impulses control all of the things in your body that you aren’t even aware of! Things like breathing, keeping your heart beating, digesting, using whichever specific muscles you need to even SPEAK…which leaves your conscious mind free to think about what you are going to say. In fact, about 80% of what your body does is automatic…completely out of your control.
With the F-16’s flight control system (and just about every fighter that come after it too), it’s the same thing. Those of you who have taken flying lessons know about all of the little corrections that you constantly have to make in a Cessna or Piper to keep yourself on course and at altitude know that flying those planes is a full-time job. But in an F-16, all those little corrections are made for you! As complicated as the flight control system is, it actually makes it easier to fly an F-16 than a Cessna!
And super-maneuverable too. That little plane is quick, light on its feet, and can out-turn just about anything else in its generation.
Many versions of the F-16 now serve in multiple missions all over the civilized world and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. That versatility keeps the Viper at the top of the game.
So what about you? Do you feel often overlooked in your quest to become a fighter pilot. Are you just dying to show that you can out-turn your competition?
Whether the F-16 is one of your favorite airplanes or not, I would encourage you to think of yourself to be like one: a versatile fighter who can rise to the challenge of any mission and make a huge noise doing it!
Want to learn more about the flight control systems of the F-16 and your other favorite airplanes? Then join the Afterburner Club today! We’ve got ALL of that inside information to get YOU into that cockpit of your dreams!
Semper Fi!