5 Fast Facts of the F-16 Fighting Falcon

5 Fast Facts of the F-16 Fighting Falcon

Friday, February 27, 15

What You’ll Learn✦ Introduction

✦ 5 Fast Facts of F-16✦ First flight

✦ Fly-by-wire✦ Innovative

✦ EPAFs✦ MLU

✦ Upgrades versus phasing out

Friday, February 27, 15

Introduction to F-16✦ Over 40 years old

✦ 4500+ produced

✦ Serves 25 countries

✦ Featured in movies like Iron Eagle (1986) and the Sum of All Fears (2002)

Seeing the F-16 flash across the movie screen with a calm pilot strapped into the cockpit on top of a rocket, pushing it to the edge, while aiming to intercepting a threat, does not

teach us much about that aircraft. What do you actually know about them?

Friday, February 27, 15

1. First Flight was 1974

Friday, February 27, 15

1. First Flight✦ YF-16 prototype’s first flight

was February 2, 1974 at Edwards Air Force Base

✦ Winner of USAF’s Air Combat Fighter Competition on January 13, 1975

✦ Over the years, this top air-to-air day fighter evolved into the all-weather, multi-role fighter it is today

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2. First fighter to use fly-by-wire system

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2. First Fly-by-wire✦ Fly-by-wire made F-16

more maneuverable than earlier-generation fighters.

✦ Fly-by-wire removes direct cable and pulley connection from pilot controls to aircraft’s flight control surfaces.

✦ Quadruple-redundant flight control system

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3. Highly Innovative design

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3. innovations - F-16 best air-to-air dog fighter✦ Reinforced airframe enabled

F-16 to be first fighter to survive 9-Gs

✦ Pilot seat elevated and set at 30 degree incline helps pilot avoid blacking out

✦ Control stick set to pilot’s right side for arm support during very tight turns

✦ Aircraft’s bubble canopy offers 360 degree view

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Bubble canopyThe F-16 has a one-piece, polycarbonate, bubble canopy with no forward frame. This bird-proof canopy enables the pilot to have a full 360 degree view, better than other 4th generation aircraft.

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4. epafs joined during early orders

✦ EPAFs - European Participating Air Forces

✦ Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, and Norway

✦ Ordered 348 aircraft combined during Paris Air Show on June 7, 1975

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5. MLU - Mid-life update✦ 1979 - began its service life

✦ 1999 - expected to be replaced

✦ Life extended through 2010; therefore Mid-life Update study begun in 1989

✦ 1992 - MLU upgrades begin to F-16 cockpit and avionics, and repair stress fractures in air frame’s bulkhead

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USAF will replace the F-16 with the f-35 Lightning IIFriday, February 27, 15

f-16 continues to serve around the worldWith the need to extend the life of the aircraft and the availability of companies that repair its aging and obsolete systems, this multi-role fighter aircraft will remain in service for countries around the world for years to come.

Friday, February 27, 15

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Friday, February 27, 15