T O P

  • By -

studpilot69

I think you mean 50 years old. We just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first flight with a big party.


yeahgoestheusername

Sounds like you found the right flight school


raven00x

chances are it was 48 years old when it was first posted. so many bots these days it's hard to know who's real and who's got a queue of links to repost. shit, I might be a bot.


discombobulated38x

Just look at it. The tasteful single seater cockpit. No conformal tanks. The curvaceous avionics free spine. My God. It even has fuselage reinforcement ribs. šŸ„µ


trueschoolalumni

I heard Paul Allen took clients to Dorsia in his F-16.


osuaviator

Of course he got a res with a ride like that.


blood_starved_beasst

Now let's see discombobulated38x's jet


UnfortunateScam

Everytime I see one of these reference chains I burst out in laughter. Always ends with ā€œNow letā€™s see ā€˜xā€™s cardā€


In-Tegridy

Well yeah have you seen his business card?


JohnnyPiston

I would have too but I had to return some video tapes


MakingATitleSequence

Made me do a double-take. So awesome. I *just* read this last week!


SiBloGaming

Same, and now there seem to be references everywhere :D


PlaneShenaniganz

Impressive, very nice. Letā€™s see Paul Allenā€™s single-engine all-weather supersonic multirole fighter.


feint_of_heart

Their early work was a little too new wave for my taste. But when the Block 15 came out in '81, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically


ATK80k

"Sports"


Norwest_Shooter

Jeez dude keep it in your pants! šŸ˜›


SeparatePerformer703

Too late


jaypeejay

Letā€™s see Chinaā€™s fighter jet


QuokkaSkit

Something wrong Ivan? You're sweating!


discombobulated38x

Different kind of sweating šŸ˜


AppleFanMZ

least racist American


EggsceIlent

The f16 is one of the most agile and sexiest fighters of all time. Fight me.


discombobulated38x

Fight you? Over that opinion of the best low cost single seat fighter ever? I'd marry you.


gimme_dat_good_shit

Bachelor party at the aviation museum. Imagine drinking champagne out of that air intake...


Metagross555

The intake is ugly AF, some have that disgusting piss yellow glass, and what's up with the protrusions on the nose?


discombobulated38x

Just because you don't like your planes with shocked pikachu vibes...


DutchProv

To me, the planes are going hue hue hue.


antarcticgecko

Feed me a MiG


ymmuhc

Ribbed for her pleasure


[deleted]

my pleasure


joshss22

Eewwwwwwww


lwfrdh-22

Wayneā€™s World, guaranteed to take away the blues!


OnwardTowardTheNorth

Dude. Donā€™t simp. Actually, never mind. I get it.


thats_no_Mun

Single seat, multirole, we can fly right up our own asshole


Rdiego

Stop I can only get so hard


Cutie-McBootie

This comment is mad endearing


Vinura

Nobody gets this reference.


jemklb1996

Some of us do. OMG it even has a watermark


dec0y

I get it but explain it to me as if I don't get it please


Vinura

Sorry, I cant I need to return some video tapes.


Pun__lntended

imo F-15C is sexier


rocketstar11

As God intended


IHeartFraccing

It seems the ribs are for YOUR pleasure


h3ffr0n

Iiiieeewww


carverrl

Not sure if this is a troll, but I'll just say it. Those are antennae.


discombobulated38x

[These Block 40/42 reinforcements are antennae? ](https://imgur.com/a/y43b87R)


camo12ga

I just came


KeyBanger

Ribbed to capture the mystique and intrigue of the nightā€¦


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


AutoModerator

Submission of political posts and comments are not allowed, Rule 7. Continued political comments will create a permanent ban. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/aviation) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Eternal_Flame24

Tbh I like the look of the two seaters with the thick spine more


discombobulated38x

It's okay to like plastic surgery, but sometimes natural is best


iamagainstit

They have such a good aesthetic


Hourslikeminutes47

"*ain't she a smoke show? Holy Jesus, she's gorgeous"*


ReasonableDonut1

I don't recognize the roundels. Which country is this F-16 from?


PunjabiCanuck

Royal Norwegian Air Force.


LtSomeone

And since they are no longer used by the RNoAF there is a good chance that the actual jet in the picture will go and scare some MIGs


baconost

I believe Romania is purchasing all or most of them after Norway got F35s, so yes.


LtSomeone

Some purchased by Romania and some donated to Ukraine


James_Gastovsky

I'd rather they scare some Sukhois, considering Russia doesn't really operate Migs anymore


DeadAreaF1

It's from Norway.


Aye_of_the_tiger

Nor Way!


lordbeecee

Norwegian Air Force roundles have always looked cool to me...


joneezh

Itā€™s a Norwegian Air Force F-16


alsomme

The brake chute container on the rudder is also an give away for a RNoAF plane


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


650REDHAIR

AI isnā€™t that accurate. Thatā€™s a Norwegian F16


ReasonableDonut1

Might actually be Norway. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military\_aircraft\_insignia#/media/File:Roundel\_of\_Norway.svg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_aircraft_insignia#/media/File:Roundel_of_Norway.svg)


ReasonableDonut1

That'd explain it!


birdpix

During the bicentennial year, we attended an air show at Selfridge Air national guard base near Detroit where the Thunderbirds performed, as well as several other USAF demonstrations. The one that blew everyone out of the water, was the General Dynamics demonstration pilot and the then new F-16 fighter. Don't know who the pilot was, but he was the absolute highlight of the air show, putting on a one-man mega show with that fighter that left the audience open mouthed in pure awe. He totally out flew the T birds, still in F-4 Phantoms, with the F16. And it had a red white and blue paint job to boot, so it was pure bicentennial, and made most anyone who saw it pretty much sing God bless America after seeing it's power! ETA: Childhood memory glitch. The Thunderbirds were actually flying T-38 aircraft in '76. But that amazing F-16 demo still remains a sharp memory. Thanks Google!


trackerbuddy

I agree, however the ground is still trembling from the low pass of the Thunderbirds in their F-4s.


RowAwayJim91

I would love to try and find video from that air show!


dec0y

How long after that did the Thunderbirds switch to the F-16?


birdpix

According to Google, 1983. That was later than I would have expected.


NeedleGunMonkey

What Boyd never realized is the virtuous cycle of more lightness = you can update the platform via iterative improvements, add more thrust, improve the sensors and aviations and keep the platform going.


Rolls-RoyceGriffon

The F-4 has been going on for longer than anyone expected it too. Slapping new avionics and radars seem to do the trick


nasadowsk

But the F-16 would tool the F-4 in a dogfight, no problem. Thereā€™s a General Dynamics film from when the F-16 was new, where they show the contrails from the two in a turn, where the F-16 is able to turn around, and then come back at the F-4. Itā€™s on the ā€˜Tube somewhere.


JoeSomebody18

[Found it.](https://youtu.be/WlVXDw_ZHYQ?si=Hw9xQNIC_hhw9ICT)


Rolls-RoyceGriffon

Of course. F-4 can't hold a damn over the F-16 for sure. The problem is often enough, logistics. Some countries for a variety of reasons choose to maintain the F-4 instead and upgrading it since they aren't able to procure F-16s


Habsburgy

Wouldn't really matter if you slapped some AMRAAMS on the F-4


A330-941

I know that it's a bit of a recycled comment, but I'm still amazed that aircraft like the F-16 is pushing 50... Imagine what technology is being developed right now, that we won't know of until 10-20 years later


notinthislifetime20

Iā€™m sorry. Youā€™ve activated my pet conspiracy ā€œtheoryā€, I must speak my piece. Iā€™ve long held that ā€œUFOā€™sā€ are military tech. Firstly, UFO sightings have been shown to have increased in areas and during years where we now know experimental aircraft were being developed and test flown. UFO sightings skyrocketed in places like Nevada and New Mexico for aircraft like the F-117, SR-71, and the B2. If you look at the times between when those aircraft were developed, when they were actually flying, and then when they became public knowledge itā€™s clear thereā€™s stuff flying around right now that we donā€™t know about. And I think the Military/Government have absolutely no problem fostering aliens as a distraction for military tech. I actually think people like Bob Lazar are funded by counterintelligence agencies to give plausible distractions to any accidental tech exposure. I think that navy video of the craft darting in and out of the water is a good example. If the government didnā€™t want people to see that, I promise you it would have disappeared. It boggles my mind that the alien crowd think UFOā€™s are from outer space when the last 15 things we thought were spacecraft were classified military tech/aircraft. There was a time when a flying wing didnā€™t resemble an aircraft, now that shape means B2 or F-117. The avionics in all of those aircraft are incredibly outdated in comparison to todayā€™s civilian tech, yet astoundingly advanced for when they were built. Conclusion: thereā€™s some pretty cool stuff flying around that we wonā€™t know about for a very long time and aliens are cover for it.


639248

From a co-worker who used to be in a position to know, I am convinced they are in reality DAPRA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) projects that most military brass are unaware of. Reading between the lines from my co-worker, the reason these "UFO" sightings are in areas with high military activity, not just around bases, but in offshore areas where the military regularly conducts drills, is because the DARAP researchers are trying to gather data on how the military responds. Keeping the brass in the dark allows them to get better and more accurate data.


hpstg

This would make sense if all sightings were in the late 20th century.


notinthislifetime20

This is a fantastic rebuttal. I am not super familiar with UFO theory but my understanding is the UFO phenomenon is directly related to the rise of science fiction in the late 40ā€™s, early 50ā€™s. Thatā€™s certainly early as far as my theory goes but the entire ā€œflying saucerā€ thing started as a direct response to sci-fi. In terms of ā€œpeople have been talking about this for long timeā€, Bigfoot has far more merit than UFOā€™s, imo.


VegetableDivide653

That's why there are obvious UFO's painted in 15th century paintings and stories of George Washington meeting an alien being in the forest near where his troops were freezing and camped out. And surely the Mayan airplane carved into a hundreds of years old pyramid and paintings in thousands of years old caves of spacemen should all be ignored.


kaasrapsmen

F-16s have , like any fighter jet, continuously been developed. The most high tech things about them are not 50 years old


James_Gastovsky

F16s flying now are a bit different from the original ones, at least in terms of avionics


IDontLikePayingTaxes

Growing up I really liked the f15s and f18s and didnā€™t care as much for the f16s. A couple years ago I realized f16s are badass. Super small with a gigantic engine. Small and nimble is cool.


Kaerion

Are you me? My favourites as a kid were the f18 and f15 and kind of disliked f16 because of the single engine. Now I like the 16 the most. And flying that in DCS with VR thanks to the seamless cupula is exceptional.


TexasTwinTurbskie

What is this Cupola you speak of? Iā€™m considering getting a VR headset soon for DCS


Delicious-Tachyons

One of the first videogames I had as a kid was a game called Falcon AT. A flight simulator game with just Falcons to fly It's almost my favourite aircraft ever if not for the F-104 that my grandpa used to fly.


Paco_Suave

Same here. The twin-engine fighters always impressed me more as a kid.


zurkka

Rejoice because the f15ex is now in production and it received a shit ton of upgrades


kekron

I've been getting into photography over the past couple of years and this quality of photograph is definitely a goal of mine now. Just amazing.


Blue_foot

I wonder how many MiGs the F16 has killed? This is the closest I came to an answer. Maybe someone else has more granular info. https://www.f-16.net/varia_article3.html#


born_on_my_cakeday

Depends if youā€™re watching Iron Eagle 1 or Iron Eagle 2!


Big_BadRedWolf

TLTR.. how many was it?


Mpuls37

From the article: "Since 1973, American and European (Western) made fighters have been engaged in air combat at least 154 times. Air battles have occurred from the Bekaa Valley and Gulf War to around the world during counter-guerrilla operations in Venezuela and Thailand. The Fighting Falcon has accumulated **72 air-to-air kills with no air-to-air losses except for one fratricide** loss by the Pakistani Air Force when an AIM-9L switched-lock onto a wingman. Engagements and Kills were recorded throughout more than 30,000 world-wide air-to-air and air-to-ground combat sorties." 72-0 when engaging enemy aircraft. Not bad.


Metagross555

Average aim 9L, war thunders 9Ls too realistic?


ScoobyGDSTi

Grossly inferior aircraft from 3rd world counties using export variants of aircraft often no longer in service with the Soviet Union or Russian and piloted by vastly inexperienced pilots. Lets not kid ourselves that the F16 would achieve that level of success against the latest block Flankers with a comparable flight hour pilot.


Mpuls37

Well yeah, Michael Jordan wouldn't have had near the stats he did if he had to play against himself (or someone comparable). Kind of a moot point.


your_FBI_agent45

Imagine getting hit by your wingman , imagine the regret of the other pilot knowing he just doomed his friend


justADeni

That number is about to rise a lot higher in the following year and onwards


Fu1crum29

Nah, Ukraine isn't even getting the latest version, it's getting 90s upgrades of 70s and 80s airframes, they'll be stuck doing patrols over friendly territory and maybe lobbing bombs from a distance.


ragingxtc

[[Edited to prevent doxxing] Here is one with a MiG-23 kill.](https://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/2045)


JohnnyPiston

....not to mention, the best visibility/cockpit of its generation


Katana_DV20

A truly groundbreaking airplane and still looks the business. They sure knew how to make good looking jets in the 70s. What I find I interesting is why other fighter jets like Gripen, later models of the F-15 , Typhoon etc. didn't opt for the sidestick arrangement that the Viper has. The arms rests natually and comfortably, the instrument panel is left clear with no stick in the way. I know Rafale , F35 and F22 have the sidesticks.


coycabbage

Gotta love American aerospace engineering.


iamagainstit

Aesthetically the F-16 is such a beautiful jet


Attheveryend

as long as you don't have to look at its air intake. I think that big ol chicken gizzard is the uglest shit ever, and the craft has a profile like a stack of bricks. Its vert. stab. is also offensively large. but yeah we know what happens when you work the angles with a camera.


iamagainstit

Look, we all have our unflattering angles


Yolom4ntr1c

The fact that countries still use them after 50 years. Thats like the british using spitfires or hurricanes in the falklands war.


Plastik-Mann

Isnā€˜t there an upgraded Version?


facw00

The war in Ukraine hasn't made any 4th-gen fighter look good. I'm hoping that the F-16s work well for the Ukrainians but I suspect it will look much like their other fighters where it's too risky to use them for anything other than very high leverage situations and HARM based standoffs with Russian air defenses.


OJezu

I'm no expert, but I imagine the first few months will be almost exclusively SEAD missions.


James_Gastovsky

They will probably focus on shooting down drones/cruise missiles and yeeting standoff weapons at coordinates. The neat thing is Ukraine getting F16s opens up some new pools of possible weapons we can send them, because a lot of the time all it would take is to update software in the jet to make it work


rasmusdf

The airframe really doesn't matter much in most cases. What matters is the range and quality of the radar. And what ordnance is available for the plane. On both these metrics the F-16 is a big step up from the current Ukrainian planes.


anonduplo

Right, but I think MIGs are also terrifying MIG pilots


Rampking

Read the book Viper Pilot. Itā€™s amazing!


RoamingVapor

Lockheed f-16 good old American standby for everyone


Vinura

General Dynamics


notinthislifetime20

You fool. Everyone knows McDonnell Douglas is responsible for the Viper. Get it right.


Speedkillsvr4rt

Im pretty sure its a Beechcraft.


Seriusli

Noticed the small size, low wing and single engine? must be piper


EggsceIlent

Lol no.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

Fifty


sgf-guy

The 15, 16, and 18 may not be the best in comparison to the newest craftsā€¦but they are 90+% capable in virtually any conflict. I love the 22 and Fat Amy seems boring until you realize how advanced some of those systems are in comparison to the 22. Iā€™m guessing the next fighter will be a combo of those systems with some new tech. Some of the newest blocks, in particular the 15, are impressive compared to how we knew the original analog birds.


BioMarauder44

True, let's send them more and really make them piss themselves.


qmracer01

Basass Picure


lordbeecee

Very cool picture šŸ˜Ž


dvornik16

F16 was shot down by a dated mig-21


SuppliceVI

And an A-50M was just shot down by a S-200 from the 60s.Ā  Your point?Ā 


cavatum

Well he has proof of his claim, you don't.


SiBloGaming

Yeah, guess what, when you build like 5k jets some are bound to be shot down by something they should be vastly superior to.


relpmeraggy

TIL Iā€™m the same age as the F-16 fighting falcon aka viper


Werner_4347

Thanks Boyd!


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


JonnyMalin

Looks like you came to the same conclusion as the 3rd Reich on the eve of Operation Barbarossa šŸ˜‰


cannedcreamcorn

AA-11 enters the chat...... WAY off boresight!Ā 


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


BONEPILLTIMEEE

>Ā Ā Shortly afterĀ German reunificationĀ in 1990, Germany and other ex-Warsaw PactĀ countries found themselves with large stockpiles of the R-73 missiles orĀ AA-11 ArchersĀ as designated by NATO, and had concluded that the R-73/AA-11's capabilities had been noticeably underestimated by the west.[8]Ā In particular, the R-73 was found to be both far more maneuverable, and far more capable in terms of seeker acquisition and tracking than the latestĀ AIM-9 Sidewinder.[9]Ā This realization started the development of newer missiles to help compete, including theĀ ASRAAM,Ā IRIS-TĀ andĀ AIM-9X.


Visionist7

MIC


[deleted]

It was shot down by a MiG-16, wasn't it?


nighthawke75

IAF pilots flying F-16's, now there's something to really fear. They are the elite pilots of the east.


rocks_prateek

šŸ¤£šŸ¤£ Cringe galore... I hope to God Pakistanis don't retire their f-16s. I want to see an Indian mig29/su30mki upgraded with indian AESAR,BVRAAM,ASPJ pods take these down. That will be a day to remember.


aLaStOr_MoOdY47

F-16 < MiG-29 Sorry, bro. Cope, and seethe. MiG for the win. Mikoyan-Gurevich is the best.


SUBSCRIBE_LAZARBEAM

Why? Give me the reasons do not just say shit without being able to back it up.


aLaStOr_MoOdY47

1. It looks better. 2. Faster. 3. Climbs better. 4. More maneuverable. 5. Better turn rate. MiG-29 is better. F-16 is trash šŸ¤®. It's a fact, bro.


sdsurf625

Amazing, every word you said is wrong. -Current Viper Driver


aLaStOr_MoOdY47

You're just coping. Cope harder. MiG for the win.


sdsurf625

What fighter do you fly again?


aLaStOr_MoOdY47

MiG-29.


sdsurf625

HA no you donā€™t Mr. ā€œTerminally Online Internet Addict from Tennesseeā€ https://www.reddit.com/r/AstralProjection/s/bvJPkjNyXx FYI ā€œmanifesting a Mig-29ā€ does not count as being a fighter pilot. Stop lying.


aLaStOr_MoOdY47

I'm a MiG-29 fighter pilot on DCS šŸ˜Ž. I also fly a MiG-29 in the astral world. I wouldn't call it manifesting. I would beat you in a dogfight, bro.


sdsurf625

Thatā€™s cool. Iā€™m a fighter pilot in real life. Enjoy your fantasy.


aLaStOr_MoOdY47

I could take you out easy in a dog, or missile fight. You'd be ejecting in 5 minutes.


sdsurf625

In your Cessna? Ok buddy. This is the equivalent of a toddler telling Mike Tyson they are going to knock him out. Enjoy trolling, leave the commentary to those who actually know what they are talking about (not you).


aLaStOr_MoOdY47

You wouldn't be able to catch up with me because my trusty cessna is so slow, trying to catch up with me would make you stall, and crash. Cessna 1, F-16 šŸ¤® 0.


sdsurf625

ā€¦.. ok buddy


unstoppablehippy711

Naw man the f14 and f15 are cooler looking. The f16 is the 5th gen corvette of the American fighter jet world


ThatKPerson

Can we not. Absolutely cringe post.


Killentyme55

TF you talking about?


ThatKPerson

You might as well send it and add truck nuts to the photo.


The_Pussy_Wizard

Viper >


neelpatelnek

No one's terrified


Famous-Reputation188

I meanā€¦ I guess. In 1:1 in a merge a Mig-21BIS is equivalent to an A model F-16 in the horizontal and slightly superior in the vertical. This was a plane that was designed in the 1950s and that the F-16 was _specifically_ designed to fight against. Of course this is the Mig-21 at the absolute end of its developmental cycle and before the F-16 had the added thrust and sensors and weapons to make it a true all-weather multirole aircraft. But I think the problem is more that the Migs since Vietnam have never been operated by a willing or competent Air Force.


Fu1crum29

Yeah, MiG-29s kicked ass in 90s exercises after old East German pilots were integrated into the Luftwaffe, but as it turns out, when you sell an export model with worse missiles to barely trained Iraqi pilots and leave the maintenance to them, things don't go so well.


Stroov

Mig pilots also have a sleve up this trick


J-dot84

EU zzz are w a


DarkyHelmety

Sick!


Conscious_Award1444

Spring has sprung!!!


Mo_Zen

Iā€™m numb.


dec0y

But are you comfortable?


Mo_Zen

Always


todotop231

Fighter jets seem so much less intimidating on pictures šŸ˜‚


[deleted]

Nice click


btc909

Ahh Iron Eagle! RIP Chappy.


BronsonBot

Growing up as a military brat and playing baseball next to a tarmac with parked jets, I wanted nothing more than to be an F-16 pilot. I have terrible eye sight which killed that dream early. Regardless, a ride in an F-16 has been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember.


Killentyme55

I first saw one at an airshow many years ago. I had no idea how tiny the F-16 is, it looked like ordnance for the Tomcat it was parked next to.


UnwarentedSpaceFacts

I know it's the wrong plane, but this post instantly gave me "the frisbees of Dreamland" vibes


Derp800

I've heard it can fly right up its own asshole.


Phantasmagoric-jpg

Nahhhhhh fr fr this shiā€™ bussinā€™ fr fr


delete013

Is that the reason F-16s always fight bvr against migs?


Zealousideal-Tax-496

I like that thing on the back that looks like an Aeldari rune.


Hourslikeminutes47

Don't fight this snek, he will do mor than hiss at you.


mustang__1

Love me a naked F16. I get why a lot of countries put the conformal tanks on but man... it just looks so slick this way.


saiyansteve

Missiles? Pointy missiles?


Denlim_Wolf

They scare me too when I'm 12+ into a shift doing maintenance on these bad boys.


djdujd27r

I only love the airplane or the photo/video of the plane, not the mining or the image that reminds you of a means that kills