Airbase Tour! 124FS/132FW. F-16CG Blk 42's

[David Hingtgen]

Going to keep this short to start with, but I basically feel the need to gloat somewhere where it'd be appreciated. Anyways, let's just say I made some connections, and got a little tour of the local ANG base, and got to see lots of F-16's up close, try out some night-vision goggles (they are amazing), get in an F-16 simulator, and generally have a better experience than any airshow can provide.

PS--got to stick my head up an F-16 intake for the first time ever.

 

 

 

 

[GRAND CANNON]

Indeed!!!

let's just say I made some connections

I would say that's an understatement!!

Any more pics to share? And how were the NVGs in regards to depth perception? And how'd you do in the sim? ............

[JELEINEN]

Congrats, David. What the heck is that thing on the tail supposed to be?

[David Hingtgen]

Tail logo is a Viper's head, mouth way open baring its fangs. See it's an F-16 squadron and all....

NVG's---the little "dark room" to try them is only like 5x5 feet so couldn't really give comments in that area (depth). Let's just say I was really impressed with how they worked.

Simulator--well it's actually been "broken" for a while (they take a lot to fix) so you couldn't turn it "on". But got to fiddle with all the buttons, etc. F-16 cockpits are small, you literally have to move your knees out of the way to hit some buttons on the main side-displays. Found out how exactly the throttle works (much much smoother and slicker than I imagined, I'm sure you could tweak it 1% at a time if you wanted) as well as how afterburner selection works:

There's a stop at full mil power, then it's more of a "rotate left" rather than lift up to go past it into afterburner. There are no stops for the afterburner settings, you just have to kind of feel/guess where zone 2, 3, etc are. But from talking to the pilots, most go either min burner or max burner, there's little point in other settings.

Edited July 1, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[GRAND CANNON]

That's great!

Glad you had the opportunity.

[David Hingtgen]

(Impossible to get the entire flightline from up close, so here's some pics showing them lined up from afar)

 

 

 

 

[David Hingtgen]

Best overall shot of the one I looked at the most (one behind it also checked some stuff):

(Sun was BRIGHT, practically overloaded the camera)

[GRAND CANNON]

What are those black "bins" hanging underneath the outer hardpoints?

[David Hingtgen]

Exactly that. Black plastic bins. Some of them had buckets. Hey, pylons are useful places to hang stuff, when there's nothing else on them. Working airbase, planes coming and going all the time. Lots of stuff to move around, bins/containers all over. I stuck my head up an exhaust and it was still warm...

Edited July 1, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[Skull Leader]

You lucky SOB! I'd kill for time on the flightline with a bunch of fighters and time in a sim (even if it was busted)

Congrats on your good fortune!

[GRAND CANNON]

Figured it would be used for nosecone caps, remove-before-flight tags, chocks, and stuff, but wanted to ask.

Can't describe how jealous I am. Been a while since an airshow. Good one coming up at Westover here in MA, but my son's due days after. Closest I've been to anything has been my best friend's Blackhawk out of Cape Cod.......not complaining, but "she ain't no fixed-wing".

Hopefully I can appease my military equipment appetite with some USN port visits during this weekend's Boston Harborfest.

[David Hingtgen]

Here's a pic showing how incredibly blue the area just ahead of the nozzle is on the new -229 engines. (This squadron was one of the first to upgrade, more power than most Block 42's--same engine as the late-build F-15E's have) It's not the sky, the metal is BLUE. This pic is standing at the righ h.stab, looking at the right speedbrake. (Which can be moved by hand when the plane's shut off, I found out, so there's currently an F-16 sitting there with asymmetrically-deployed speedbrakes) Everything automatically "centers/resets to defaul position" when planes power up, saw a Super Hornet do it last weekend. (it's very true that everything moves when the pilot moves the stick on a Hornet--"right stick" on most planes would move the ailerons, on the Hornet it moves EVERYTHING) That also explains why no 2 F-16's on the ground ever seem to have the same speedbrake positioning, the wind/gravity can probably move them too...

[wm cheng]

Hey now I know who to come for pictures when I get around to doing my F-16! Did you ever get that second resin intake piece for the 1/72 Hasegawa kit?

[skunkobot]

Reminds me of when I got to visit Dyess AFB down in Abilene TX. I think it was Abiline at any rate. Got to check out the B-1Bs up close. Sit in the cockpit, check out the back end. Plus they ran the simulator for us. Got to "fly" it. Unfortunately they shut of the hydraulic movement so we could all get in at once. That thing was fun!!!

Of course I was in the AF at the time, so it was a bit easier to broker that kind of a tour, with the right connections and all...

[Anubis]

I wish I had a digital camera when I was in the AF, I could have gotten all kinds of good pics. I may or may not have a roll of film with some Haz pics form Korea. At least the F-16 side. Don't think I got any of the A-10 side. Can't find my film though.

[Stamen0083]

It's not the sky, the metal is BLUE.

Heat stress?

[David Hingtgen]

Kind of depends. If a jet engine has an exhaust spike/cone (much more common with a fixed nozzle, not a variable one) they are generally VERY blue when new, but quickly "burn" to a more normal "jet exhaust" color. But areas upstream of the nozzle like that on the F-16 are generally caused by heat, though the ones I saw that day were so amazingly evenly colored, I think it may be inherent to the metal. F-105's are THE thing to look at for "heat induced blue-ing" of metal.

[Grayson72]

Great pics David, thanks for sharing, I bet the blue isn't heat induced probably some kind of chem treatment from the MFG.

[Stamen0083]

Either way, we need some flat clear blue on top of silver or aluminum, right?

This is interesting. This is the first time I see this effect on a fighter plane.

[David Hingtgen]

Absolutely, you can tell they're blue from 50ft away. I need to look at photos of older ones to see if ALL F-16's do it, only later ones, whether it depends on the engine, etc. But for sure, Block 42's with -229 engines have it. (Gotta go look at late-build F-15E pics--identical engines)

[the white drew carey]

If God wanted man to fly, he would have given him lifting surfaces and afterburners.

Oh wait... He did!!!

[David Hingtgen]

After looking around, I say it's an F100 engine thing. Also, I think the color lessens with age. The F-16's I saw had quite new engines, having been re-engined. It seems consistently less obvious on F-15's, but those F-15's with newer hand-me-down engines from F-16's have "bluer" ones.

Here's an F-15C that I would bet has -220E engines: (being a front-line squadron from the 1st wing): (not my pic, I *wish* my camera could do this)

[Gaijin]

I want to see the pic of you sticking your head up the exhaust.

Seriously, you are lucky...

[David Hingtgen]

Will this suffice? And yes, afterburner ducts really are ceramic white inside, with some exhaust stains.

PS, note to modelers: I have never, ever encountered even the sightest hint of shine/metal on the actual engine exhaust stage(s). Turbines are black and dull when brand-new taken out of the crate, and only get grey and duller with age. Compressor blades are the same, though very new models of engines tend to have the extreme leading edge of each blade "bare metal" with the remaining 99% of the blade pure black. Afterburner exhaust ducts vary, with most being basic white, though F-14's tend to be mostly bare metal on PW's, with alternating white/bare on GE's. (Same for GE F-16's).