F-16 Demo Team RIAT Issue (landed safely)

go4long · by **go4long** » 21 Jul 2019, 18:42

Was at the airshow today at Fairford. It appears that the demo team, operating F-16 96-080 suffered a horizontal stabilizer delamination while in flight. Pilot was able to come back around and land safely after some checks. Apparently this is a known issue?

F-16 Tail Damage by Steven Szabo, on Flickr

F-16 Tail Damage -2 by Steven Szabo, on Flickr

F-16 Tail Damage - 3 by Steven Szabo, on Flickr

F-16 Tail Damage Crop by Steven Szabo, on Flickr

jetblast16 · by **jetblast16** » 22 Jul 2019, 00:28

boilermaker · by **boilermaker** » 22 Jul 2019, 08:03

Looks like it is due to some form of aerodynamic vibration mode at the tip. Probably not uncommon. In turbine blade design, they simply shape the final cut around such modes, cutting away what sheds

jacarlsen · by **jacarlsen** » 22 Jul 2019, 11:50

Worked the F-16 for 21 years. Never seen or heard of this happening. Our biggest problem was the leading edge coming loose or the old bl 10/15 ventral fin shearing of and striking the stab.

sciafer · by **sciafer** » 22 Jul 2019, 16:05

jacarlsen wrote:Worked the F-16 for 21 years. Never seen or heard of this happening. Our biggest problem was the leading edge coming loose or the old bl 10/15 ventral fin shearing of and striking the stab.

As jacarlsen says, I also have worked this aircraft for over 25+ yrs...This is NOT common or should I say we don't see this alot. It does happen now and then but its rare .... We call this delamination.

FlightDreamz · by **FlightDreamz** » 22 Jul 2019, 18:17

Wonder how many flight hours this particular F-16 had on it. Or if it had a Service Life Extension done (which shouldn't have anything to do with a tail stabilizer de-laminating - but I'm curious)!