How to Identify the F-16 Fighting Falcon

Designed by General Dynamics in the early 1970s, the F-16 Fighting Falcon is now produced by Lockheed Martin. The F-16 is a compact, maneuverable and multipurpose aircraft.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Film
• Cameras
• Cameras
• Binoculars
• Binoculars
• Computers
• Camcorders
• Digital Cameras
• Camera Lenses
• SLR Camera
• Camera Tripod
• Aircraft Band Scanner
• Air & Space Subscriptions
• Aviation Illustrated Magazine
• Telescopes
• Aviation History Subscription
• Pioneers Of Aviation Videos
• Polaroid Cameras
• Polaroid Film
• Desert Storm: Original Air Footage Videos
• The Wild Blue Yonder: The USAF Video

1. Look for a relatively small fighter aircraft. The F-16 is less than 50 feet long and has a wingspan of just over 32 feet.

2. Remember, most military jet fighters are painted in a low-visibility blue-gray.

3. Note the F-16 is a single-engine jet.

4. Check the jet engine intake. It's recessed deeply under the nose and gives the F-16 the appearance of having a gaping mouth.

5. Note how the cockpit and fuselage seem to sit atop the jet engine.

6. Check the length of the nose.

7. Note how the nose seems to slope downward, ending in a sharp point.

8. Check the cockpit canopy. It's a Plexiglas bubble that allows the pilot high visibility. Note how the Plexiglas seems to have a golden tint.

9. Note the wings and the horizontal stabilizers. They have similar shapes - swept-back leading edges and relatively straight trailing edges.

10. Look at the position of the vertical stabilizer. It sits slightly forward of the horizontal elements.

11. Check the bottom of the fuselage between the wings and the horizontal stabilizers. Two fins point downward from the fuselage.

12. Check the wingtips. Note the rails provided for mounting air-to-air missiles.

Tips & Warnings

• The F-16 serves the United States in the Air Force, the Air Guard and the Reserves.
• The F-16 also serves in the air forces of Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela.
• The USAF Thunderbirds air-demonstration team uses the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
• The F-16 can operate well above 50,000 feet at Mach 2.
• The F-16 uses either a General Electric or Pratt and Whitney jet engine, producing approximately 29,000 pounds of thrust. It can lift more than 10 tons of munitions.
• Expect security around or near F-16 Fighting Falcons to be heavy.