Air Force F-16 fighter jet from 1980 for sale in Florida " . . . the plane is a fully functioning combat aircraft and not demilitarized." Mmm . . . https://www.foxnews.com/us/f-16-fighter-jet-for-sale-florida
I saw a different article that stated it had been demilitarized, which would only make sense. Apparently had been listed in Controller.com for a short time.
Will be interesting to see if TacAir or a similar contractor wants these...I predict many difficulties...active duty Vipers, while very reliable, still have a very intricate support infrastructure. When a black box fails, we would just swap it out in minutes and be on our way, letting some wombats off in a cave somewhere spend weeks fixing the one that came out. What do these buyers do? It's a solvable problem, but not an inconsequential one. TacAir bought over twenty F-5s (also from Jordan) for a reason...much, much cheaper to fly and maintain. The DoD wants these contractors to help them save on the cost of flying these same aircraft (F-16s, F-18s, and F-35s)...I'm just not sure how a contractor is going to save money when the economies of scale, operating just three planes, aren't there.
Speaking of training, can someone confirm if the 2 seat F15s are identical to the single seats in terms of cockpit and canopy dimensions? I've always noticed the single seat version has a huge space and flat panel behind the pilot. And the two seats look like a small crammed area behind the pilot for the second person. Photos of the two flying together look like the same canopy and cockpit dimensions...seems like a smart idea rather than redesigning the entire thing like the F16 (obviously a smaller plane to begin with). Can a single seat F15 be converted to 2 seat? https://media.defense.gov/2009/Oct/17/2000453034/-1/-1/0/091013-F-6911G-447.JPG
The F-15 is massive. Not sure but not surprised if they just stuffed another cockpit in back. I only have a dozen or so hours in the Eagle, all doing test work from the “pit” but recall it was a full cavernous cockpit in back. All the stuff in back mirrored the front. The Viper, on the other hand, is f’n tiny. No way they could ever put another dude in it without stretching it and ditching the forward fuel tank. The B/D-models all carried less fuel.
I have several F-15D sorties, too, and am pretty sure the D model canopy is quite a bit larger than the C model's. Lots of room back there and you can even light the burners in back, unlike the USAF F-4s. Seems like you could in the F-16D, too.
I looked a little closer at the canopy design and the 2 seat version does appear to be taller in the back with a steeper decline toward the rear of the plane, but overall seems similar in length. The area behind the pilot for the single seat is still massive. "Bay 5" with avionics. If the designers knew to make the fuselage dimensions the same between all variants with only a few canopy changes that was pretty smart. This area is gigantic...it has a matte gray flat piece that moves with the canopy to keep it covered. https://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/review.php?rid=322 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Will- So long ago I had forgotten which way it worked. Nice on the F-15D to be able to use burners in back.
Yeah, I had to think about it as I rarely ever flew in the back. Both throttles move together in the F-16 and the detents are on the front rail only, so no ability to lift the throttle over detents in back. You could shutdown from the back only by breaking the safety wire on the fuel shutoff switch and switching off the fuel.
The forward fuselage sections for the A/B (single seat) and C/D (two seats) are completely different. There's no practical way you can put an ejection seat in Bay 5 (area behind the front seat) of the single seat variants. Our F-15s (58th FS) had their Bay 5 filled with prototype "Band 3" ICS boxes. ICS - Internal Countermeasures Set
Sorry - A/C as single seat and B/D as twin seat. I can't believe it's been 20 years already since I left the F-15 world. Of course, include the F-15E Strike Eagle along with the B/D. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ok here is my question. Let's say you have the ability (huge sums of money) to buy an F-16. What do you do with it? Where can you fly the airplane to even use a tiny bit of its capability? Can a civilian activate airspace like a MOA with overlying ATCAA?
It’s just a plane...plenty of people own airplanes that fly a similar airspeed and have roughly similar flying characteristics...fly it from A to B. Fly it local and do loops to music. Fly low level cross country. Do airshows. All sorts of possibilities...after you sort out just operating it at all.
Can you imagine.. Just a different level. Guy with the G6 thinks he is the man, then the F-16 guy shows up..