General Dynamics F-16 Falcon Military Aircraft Model From Franklin Mint

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General Dynamics F-16 Falcon Military Aircraft Model From Franklin Mint

General Dynamics F-16 Falcon - Scale Model Warbird
Part Number: B11E088
Availability: Available Now
Approximately 12" (23.1 cm) in length. Wingspan approximately 8" (22.5 cm). Scale 1:48.

General Dynamics F-16 Falcon - Scale Model Warbird - Description

·	Agility. Accuracy. And pure air superiority. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the ultimate fighter plane of the modern era.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multi-role jet fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics in the United States. Designed as a lightweight fighter, it evolved into a successful multi-role aircraft. In 1993 General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, now Lockheed Martin. The Falcon's versatility is a paramount reason it was a success on the export market, serving 24 countries.[1] The F-16 is the largest and probably most significant current Western fighter program, with over 4000 aircraft built. Though no longer produced for the United States Air Force, it is still produced for export.

The Fighting Falcon is regarded as a superb dogfighter, with innovations such as the bubble canopy, side-mounted control stick, and reclined seat. It was also the first US fighter aircraft to match the English Electric Lightning's ability to execute 9 g turns. Although the F-16's official name is "Fighting Falcon", it is known to its pilots as the "Viper."

Development

The F-16 originated in a set of specifications by the United States Department of Defense. Deficiencies of the F-4 Phantom II in air combat manuevering in the Vietnam War, particularly at close ranges, shaped the specifications for the F-15 Eagle. An informal and influential group nicknamed the "Fighter Mafia", among them systems analyst Pierre Sprey, test pilot Charles E. Meyers, test pilot Everest Riccioni, and former instructor pilot John Boyd, believed the F-15 was a move in the wrong direction. They argued that the F-15 was too large and expensive. Designed as a fast interceptor, it had a wide turn radius and was not well suited to close range dogfighting. The Fighter Mafia argued for a lighter fighter with superb maneuverability that was cheap enough to deploy in numbers.[2] These specifications became the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program, begun in 1971.

The LWF specified a plane weighing 20,000 pounds (9,000 kg), half the weight of the F-15, stressing low cost, small size, range, and emphasising maneuverability — turn rate and acceleration — at the expense of top speed. Its ideal operating environment was intended to be under Mach 1.6 and 40,000 feet (12,000 m). Two companies were chosen during the concept stage: General Dynamics with the YF-16 design and Northrop with a design which bore the name YF-17 Cobra.[3]

The LWF faced significant opposition in the Air Force because it was seen as competition to the F-15, the Air Force's premier fighter program. To head off opposition the project was redesignated Air Combat Fighter (ACF). At this time, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway were seeking a replacement for their F-104 Starfighters, and formed the Multinational Fighter Program Group to choose a replacement. Both ACF aircraft were in consideration, as well as the Dassault Mirage F1 and the Saab Viggen. Also during this time, the Navy was looking for a low-cost alternative to the F-14 Tomcat, an interceptor similar in its size and cost to the F-15, in a program called VFAX. Congress directed the Navy to use the same aircraft as the ACF programme. As the VFAX was envisioned to be a multi-role aircraft, this requirement made it into the ACF specifications as well, staving off direct competition with the F-15 as it was pitched to be a counterpart.

The first flight of the YF-16 prototype was in 1974. The first prototype was powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 turbofan engine also used on early versions of the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. On January 13, 1975, the Air Force chose the YF-16 as the winner of the ACF competition as it gave superior performances across the board and promised to be cheaper to procure and maintain. It used the same engine as the F-15, which F-15 supporters believed would help their program. There were also political concerns with keeping General Dynamics in business after the end of the F-111 program. The U.S. Navy chose to have the YF-17 design developed into the F/A-18 because it offered twin-engined reliability, then viewed as essential for over-water operations.

The plane was offered to NATO members, and made an appearance at the 1975 Paris Air Show. The MFPG nations agreed to purchase 348 planes, with final assembly to take place in Belgium (SABCA), The Netherlands (Fokker) and various parts subcontracted among them.

Production

Initially, the F-16 was manufactured in two models: "A" (single-seat combat version) and "B" (combat-capable two-seat trainer). The F-16A first took flight in December 1976 and was first delivered to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing in January 1979. In the same month, they were delivered to the Belgian Air Force. The F-16 is the first American fighter to be concurrently deployed domestically and abroad. The B model is a trainer version with an extended canopy to accommodate a second pilot, also reducing fuel and avionics growth space. Typically the student pilot sits in the front cockpit with the instructor pilot behind.

In the 1980s, the F-16A/B was superseded by the F-16C/D with improved avionics and engine. The F-16 has been continually upgraded throughout its production history; block designations reflect significant upgrades and are outlined below. The empty weight of F-16 grew from 15,600 pounds (Block 10 F-16A) to 19,200 (Block 50 F-16C).

The Air Force primarily operates Block 40/42 and 50/52 F-16C's on active duty, while most Block 25 and 30/32 airframes have been moved to the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve.

The F-35 is the F-16's intended replacement, possessing slightly improved performance and most importantly, stealth technology, which will enhance its survivability in the modern battlespace.

Combat service

Due to their ubiquity, the F-16s have participated in numerous conflicts, most of them in the Middle East.

In 1981, eight Israeli F-16s participated in a raid that destroyed Osiraq, an Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad. During the same year, the Israeli Air Force obtained the first shoot downs for the entire F-16 series, shooting down a Syrian Mi-8 helicopter and a MiG-21 jet. The following year, during Operation Peace for Galilee (Lebanon War) Israeli F-16s engaged on numerous occasions with Syrian aircraft, ending up victorious at all times. F-16s were also used afterwards in their ground-attack role for strikes against targets in Lebanon.

During the Afghan war, Pakistan Air Force F-16's shot down numerous Soviet and Afghan ground attack and transport aircraft (the exact number is classified).[4] The same border clashes also saw the first combat loss of a Fighting Falcon, when an aircraft was shot down by its own wingman, a case of friendly fire later traced back to a faulty AAM.[5]

In Operation Desert Storm of 1991, 249 USAF F-16s flew over 13,000 sorties in strikes against Iraq, the most of any Coalition aircraft, with five lost in combat, 3 to surface-to-air missiles, one to a premature bomb detonation, and one to an engine fire. F-16s returned to Iraq in force in 1998 as part of the Operation Desert Fox bombing campaign and again in the 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom invasion, flying ground support and SEAD missions.

F-16s were also employed by NATO during Bosnian peacekeeping operations in 1994-95 (one was lost to a SAM, resulting in the evasion and recovery of Captain Scott O'Grady), in the 1999 Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia (during which one was lost to ground fire), and by the United States in Afghanistan since 2001. Two air-to-air victories were scored by USAF F-16's in Operation Southern Watch, four in Bosnia, and two in Operation Allied Force (one by a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16).

On June 7, 2006, F-16s carried out two airstrikes which killed Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, using two 500 lb. bombs to destroy the al-Qaeda safehouse he was in. Israeli F-16s were believed to have participated in the Israel-Lebanon conflict that began in July, 2006, since the aircraft is known to be the bomber workhorse of the Israel Defense Forces. The exact extent of the F-16's role in that conflict was not known publicly as of late July, 2006 but was widely believed to be extensive. A fully loaded IDF F-16I reportedly crashed on July 19 when one of its tires burst as it took off for Lebanon from an air base in the Negev. The pilots ejected safely and there were no casualties on the ground.

Design characteristics

The F-16 is a single engine, multi-mission tactical aircraft. It is equipped with an M61 Vulcan cannon in the left wing root, and can be equipped with air-to-air missiles and a large variety of missiles or bombs.

From the very beginning, the F-16 was intended to be a cost-effective "workhorse," that could perform various kinds of missions and maintain around-the-clock readiness. It is much simpler and lighter than its predecessors, but uses advanced aerodynamics and avionics (including the first use of fly-by-wire, earning it the nickname of "the electric jet") to maintain good performance.

Ergonomics and visibility

The pilot sits high in the fuselage with the canopy support-bow behind him, out of his field of view. This and the bubble canopy give the pilot an unobstructed field of view, a feature vital during air-to-air combat. The seat is reclined 30 degrees (other seats are typically inclined ~13 degrees), to fit the seat into such a low, narrow (originally radar-less) nose. A common myth is that the angle helps the pilot deal with high g's. The control stick is mounted on the right armrest rather than between the legs as is traditional, to aid in maneuvering during high-g turns. In addition, a Heads-Up Display displays vital information in the pilot's field of view.

Fly by wire

The F-16 uses computerized fly-by-wire and has no mechanical linkages between the control stick and the flight surfaces. Computer control is necessary for flight as a result of the inherent negative stability of the aircraft, a trait which trades stable flight for increased maneuverability.

This lack of mechanical linkages between the control stick and the flight surfaces led to an unusual characteristic in the design of the control stick: originally, it did not move. The control stick instead detected pressure applied by the pilot and translated that pressure into control of the aircraft. This arrangement proved uncomfortable and difficult for pilots to adjust to, so the control stick was given a small amount (less than a quarter of an inch in any direction) of play.

The onboard computer makes thousands of calculations and corrections each second to keep the plane flying, freeing pilots to concentrate on tasks necessary to fulfill their intended role. The enhanced computer oversight also provides automatic flight coordination, utilizing all control surfaces (including the rudder) to keep the aircraft from entering performance hurting or even potentially dangerous situations such as unintentional slips or skids.

Early critics of the F-16 felt that the completely electronic control system would dramatically decrease safety[citation needed], but a predicted rash of fly-by-wire based accidents has not materialized.

Wing and Strake Configuration

Aerodynamic studies in the early 1960’s demonstrated that the phenomenon known as “vortex lift” could be beneficially harnessed by the utilization of highly swept wing configurations, such as found in the Concorde supersonic aircraft and the Swedish Viggen canard configured aircraft. These favorable effects affected the aircraft’s lift capability and allowed the close-coupled wing to be extended to create higher angles of attack through use of a strong leading-edge vortex flow of a slender lifting surface. The leading edge of the wing’s blended forebody would thus increase the strength of the vortices and give the aircraft additional lift.

The exploitation of this aerodynamic phenomenon shaped the design of the F-16, which boasts cropped delta wings and long wing-body strakes, and is considered to be one of the significant elements responsible for its enduring success as a highly maneuverable fighter.

Negative static stability

An aircraft with negative static stability will, in the absence of control input, depart from level and controlled flight. Most aircraft are designed with positive static stability, where a plane tends to return to its original attitude following a disturbance. However, positive static stability hampers maneuverability, as the tendency to remain in its current attitude opposes the pilot's effort to maneuver, and so a plane with negative static stability will be more maneuverable. With a fly-by-wire system, such a plane can be kept in stable flight, its instability kept in check by the flight computers.

The YF-16 was the world's first aircraft to be slightly aerodynamically unstable by design. This feature is officially called "relaxed static stability". At subsonic speeds, the aeroplane is constantly on the verge of going out of control. This tendency is constantly caught and corrected by the FLCC (Flight Control Computer) and later the DFLCC (Digital Flight Control Computer), allowing for stable flight. When supersonic, the airplane exhibits positive static stability due to aerodynamic forces acting on the strake section of the wing.

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