The F-16 grew out of the lessons of Vietnam, where America’s hulking twin-engine F-4 Phantom fighters were badly outmaneuvered by lighter, more agile Russian-built MiG-21s. The prototype YF-16 first flew in 1974, and won a fly-off with the Northrop YF-17 to be the Air Force’s new air-combat fighter. The F-16 joined the USAF in 1979, and is still this country’s front-line fighter plane, with more than 1,500 operational today. The Air Force took delivery of its last F-16 in 2005.
“Fly-by-Wire” Control System
The F-16’s most innovative design feature is its “fly-by-wire” control system, the first on any aircraft. In a normal plane, the pilot moves a control wheel or stick connected to the plane’s elevator, ailerons, and rudder. But in the F-16, a computer moves the control surfaces in response to electronic input from the pilot’s control stick. This innovation allowed the F-16 to be designed with negative stability, which makes it more maneuverable. An unstable aircraft is normally difficult or impossible for a human pilot to keep under control. But the F-16’s quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire computer automatically makes constant split-second corrections to keep the plane stable.
Phenomenal Maneuverability
The F-16 is designed to maneuver at up to nine g’s. This allows it to turn tighter than other fighters, a big advantage in a dogfight. But at such high g-loadings, the pilot is crushed down into his seat by almost a ton of force, and can barely lift a finger. So the F-16 has a small side-mounted control stick on an armrest. Instead of moving back and forth, the F-16’s fixed joystick responds to hand pressure. In a tight, high-g turn, an otherwise immobilized F-16 pilot can literally fly with the twitch of a finger. Aerodynamics also help the F-16’s maneuverability. Wing-body strakes along the nose generate vortexes, small whirling tornadoes of air that flow back across the wings. The resulting “vortex lift” helps keep the F-16 wing from stalling at the high angles of attack required for extreme maneuvering. Originally designed and built by General Dynamics, the F-16 and its Ft. Worth assembly plant were sold to Lockheed in 1993. Lockeed then merged with Martin in 1995.
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