In the history of world aviation (especially combat) there are many truly legendary aircraft. Some of them, having been created during the Cold War, have been and will be produced for a long time. One such aircraft is the F16. This fighter is planned to be produced (at least) until 2017. This is one of the most numerous vehicles in the entire NATO bloc.
Main Specifications
- The crew is one pilot.
- Total airframe length - 15.03 m.
- Total wingspan - 9.45 m (if rockets are suspended from the wing pylons, the span is exactly 10 meters).
- Maximum airframe height - 5.09 m.
- Total area of the wing is 27.87 m².
- The size of the common chassis base is 4.0 m.
- Track gauge - 2.36 m.
- The weight of the empty aircraft is within 9.5 tons. Variations are possible depending on the types of additional fueltanks and models of installed engines.
- Takeoff weight - from 12.5 to 14.5 tons. Dependency - as in the previous case.
- The maximum speed of the F16 fighter is 2M at 12,000 meters, and about 1.2M near the ground.
How did his story begin?
The history of the aircraft begins in the mid-60s. After the failures in Vietnam, the Americans came to the conclusion that they needed a specialized light fighter that would allow them to immediately gain air supremacy. As part of this program, the F-15 model was quickly created, but it turned out to be unnecessarily complex and very expensive.
That is why in 1969 a program was launched to create a simple and cheap fighter capable of simultaneously performing the functions of an interceptor in simple meteorological conditions. The fact is that in those days the main opponent of the US Air Force was the MiG-21, which was in service not only with the USSR itself, but also with a number of other countries of the socialist bloc. It was difficult for the heavy and not very maneuverable F-15 to fight with the nimble MiGs, and therefore something urgently needed to be changed.
Beginning of a new aircraft
At the very beginning of 1972, the Air Force made an offer to all major American aircraft manufacturers. It was assumed that the state order will go to the company that won as a result of an open tender. Soon there were only two real contenders for the order. They were General Dynamics and Northrop. Two years later they presented theirprototypes, named F-16 and YF-17.
The first aircraft was built according to the classical scheme, using one engine. YF-17 was twin-engine. The second machine turned out to be good, but again it was unnecessarily expensive and difficult to manufacture. Not surprisingly, the F16 was chosen as the winner of the tender. The fighter was much simpler, and the prospects for its mass production were much more real. However, the “loser” YF-17 was not forgotten. It was the developments on this project that formed the basis for the creation of the F / A-18 Hornet carrier-based fighter.
Reducing the cost of construction
Pratt & Whitney F100 engines were used in the design of the aircraft to reduce the overall cost of the structure. They, by the way, were "borrowed" from the F-15 model. The chassis wheels were taken from the Convair B-58 aircraft. However, the new fighter should not be considered a collection of borrowings. In particular, the airframe of the machine was completely new: it was developed from scratch, designed according to a revolutionary unstable scheme.
From now on, the flight depended not only on the skill of the pilot, but also on the constant operation of correction systems, without which it was simply impossible to achieve the sane behavior of a nimble car at dangerous angles of approach. This is the cardinal difference of F16. A fighter whose speed exceeds Mach 2 in pitch is, in general, pointless to try to level in manual mode. It is for this reason that the mechanical drive in the design is completely absent, which was a revelation for the world aircraft industry in those years.
In general, the purpose of the aircraft for extremely high speeds is provided for in everything. Firstly, a completely new anti-g seat was created for pilots, which helped a person withstand accelerations up to 9G. Not far from the handle of the steering wheel is a special stop for the pilot's hand. The fact is that at maximum acceleration, the entire human body becomes much heavier, and therefore he simply physically cannot keep his limbs on weight.
Ergonomics were of the utmost importance: all necessary controls were within easy reach and very conveniently located. Due to this, the pilot was less tired during piloting, the presence of a co-pilot in the cockpit was no longer required. However, there are still two-seat modifications, but they are intended solely for educational purposes.
First problems
For its time, the new aircraft was a real breakthrough. In particular, there was practically no mechanical connection between the control units and the machine's executive systems. It is for this reason that one incident happened. When the first experimental F16 (fighter) took off, he began to twitch and scour the runway. Despite the anxiety of what was happening, the pilot still managed to gain the necessary speed and take off.
In the process of analyzing the incident, it turned out that the reason for the inadequate behavior of the aircraft lies in the outdated pilot training system, when they pulled the steering wheel too hard. "Smart" electronics right theretransmitted this force, which was excessive, to the engines and rudders, as a result of which the fighter began to “run” along the runway. When the circumstances of the incident cleared up, the US immediately began to rewrite flight training instructions and prepare new training manuals.
Note that F16 is unique in this respect. An analogue fighter from domestic open spaces, that is, the MiG-29, requires a more complex system for training young pilots.
The current state of affairs
Today, all produced "old men" F-16s not only remain in service, but are also preparing for a full-scale modernization. True, the prospects for this have not yet been determined. So, in 2014, the Americans planned to retrofit all their aircraft of this model to the F-16V level. The last letter in the index stands for Viper, "viper". It is planned to add an active phased array, install a more functional and powerful on-board computer. In addition, work was planned to improve the ergonomics of the cockpit.
According to experts, almost any F16 can be upgraded to this version. The fighter after the completed complex of works will become somewhat more maneuverable and survivable in the conditions of modern air combat.
But, as we have already noted, the prospects for this undertaking are rather vague. It's all about a decent reduction in budget allocations. Huge sums are spent on bringing the F-35 model to “mind”, and something needs to be done with the fleet of new F-22s. Most likely, the upgraded fighters will be exported, while inUS skies are planned to be dominated by the latest F-35s. In particular, many US allies in NATO have already shown interest in the prospect of improving their aircraft.
How good is the F-16 in the sky?
The relatively middle-aged F16 aircraft has a degree of maneuverability rare for Western aircraft, slightly yielding in this only to the domestic Su-27 and MiG-29. This is largely due to the fact that this machine was the first mass-produced fighter aircraft, the design of which involved new computerized control systems that ensure the stability of the airframe in any conditions, regardless of the actions of the pilot himself.
Impressions of pilots
Practically all pilots who were given the F16 for the first time experienced real pleasure in flying the new technology. The machine is distinguished by excellent controllability, the “volumetric” cockpit canopy in the form of a bubble provides an excellent overview, and indicators that display information directly on the glass allow the pilot to be aware of any changes in the state of the machine without being distracted by studying the instruments.
The US military especially liked the ease of training young recruits. So, if it took months to practice strikes against ground targets on other aircraft, then the F16 Fighting Falcon fighter required no more than two or three sorties. Huge amounts of fuel and time were saved. The bombing accuracy of the new aircraft was such that the pilots nicknamed the aiming mark on the display the "point of death." Despite this,he did have some problems, and not all of them were “cosmetic.”
Operational issues
But the new car also has drawbacks. Firstly, both engineers and the military themselves have repeatedly noted that due to the presence of only one engine in the design of the machine, its real combat survivability may turn out to be small. Israeli pilots are especially resting on this. They hold the F-15 in high esteem. With two engines, this machine repeatedly allowed pilots to return to base when one of them failed as a result of being hit by a MANPADS missile.
Secondly, a lot of criticism is caused by too low air intake. Because of this, the F16 fighter, the technical characteristics of which are discussed in the article, needs very good airfields, cannot be operated in dust storms and from unpaved runways.
There are problems with the landing itself. Many pilots were transferred to the Fighting from the F-4. This plane was notable for its considerable weight, and therefore sat down tightly and reliably. But the F16 fighter (whose photo you will find in the article), with its low weight and one engine, when landing, even experienced pilots often begin to “goat”, jumping along the runway. The result is a rapid wear of the chassis, which is very dissatisfied with the maintenance staff, who constantly have to change torn tires.
Many pilots complained about the lateral position of the yoke handle. Because of this, it was necessary to make changes to the design: they added an artificial backlash, thanks to which the handleseemed to be located in the center. After that, the new F16 (the fighter whose characteristics are discussed in the article) became much more "kind" to the old generation of pilots who were accustomed to the central location of the steering wheel.
Unprecedented openness in testing the new aircraft still failed to reveal all the shortcomings in the design. So, at the very beginning of the 80s, it suddenly turned out that the famous “smart” automation sometimes gives catastrophic failures. As a result of this, several pilots died at once, who completely lost control a few meters above the ground, during complex maneuvers.
Given that the first batches had not the most impressive navigation equipment, the pilots gloomily called their aircraft "Cessnes with missiles", indicating the low reliability of the machine, which did not exceed that for ordinary civilian equipment.
We had to add advanced protection against power surges, as well as introduce additional batteries into the design, which prevented voltage sag in some specific cases. At present, almost all possible "childhood diseases" have already been finally defeated, and the pilots do not experience any problems with the operation. Given that there are at least a dozen countries among the operators, we can confidently speak about the rather high reliability of the F-16 and its good prospects for further modernization.
Practical application
In April 1981, these aircraft participated in raids onPalestinian refugee camps, being part of the Israeli Air Force. By the end of the month, the F16 fighter drove off a Russian plane (then still Soviet), which was flown by a Syrian pilot, and soon the Falcons shot down two Mi-8s belonging to the Syrian military contingent. A triumph, let's say, is dubious, since even a pilot flying a much older machine could shoot down a couple of transport helicopters without even making visual contact with them.
In mid-July, a much more convincing victory was won when an Israeli pilot shot down a Syrian MiG-21. In the first Lebanese war, five F-16s were shot down by the Syrians, who by that time were flying MiG-23s. In general, the Israelis often used this aircraft as an attack aircraft. So, in the same 1981, they “gangsterly”, without warning and declaring war, invaded Iraqi airspace and bombed the Ozirak reactor near Baghdad. The structure was completely destroyed, the fighter flight had no losses.
From 1986 to 1989, Pakistani pilots shot down a number of Afghan transport aircraft, helicopters (including one Mi-26), and also shot down one Su-25 attack aircraft, which was piloted by Alexander Rutskoi. Did the old MiG "pull" against the F16? At that time, only the MiG-21 could be in service with the Afghans. In combination with the low skill of the pilots, he physically could not resist the new technology.
But all these are episodes in which the new equipment was "run in" by the American allies. Did they use this plane on their own? Yes, there was.
Invasion of Panama and othersepisodes
But even this episode cannot be called exciting, with all the desire. Yes, a whole flight of these fighters took part in the invasion of Panama, but the Panamanians had no planes at all, and therefore there were no air battles in that war at all.
But during the Gulf War, it was the F-16 that was the most massive machine of the Coalition, having made at least 13,450 sorties. In total, 249 pieces of equipment participated in those events. It is officially believed that at that time the Americans lost about 11 planes shot down, and another five damaged. Whether these figures correspond to reality is another question. At that time, there was still combat-ready aviation in Iraq, and there were also pilots.
Did you meet in battle F16 (fighter) against the MiG-29, our analogue of the "Fighter"? No. Pilots who had the opportunity to fly both of these machines, evaluate them equally. They have their advantages and disadvantages, both aircraft hold their course superbly and have excellent maneuverability. So there is no need to talk about any real superiority or lag in technology. In principle, our MiG, which has two engines, in the event of a MANPADS missile hitting one of them, has some chances to “hobble” to its airfield. For the F-16, damage or destruction of the motor will be fatal.
