The 2nd YF-16 prototype (#01568), seen with a load of 4 Sparrows, including 2 on the wingtips. Given the absence of a radar (the pointy nose was later enlarged to accomodate the radar), this configuration seems odd. [USAF photo]
Comments
-
on 2004-Feb-29 12:19:38 Anonymous said LinkF16SimDude
The Sparrow loadout was probably for demo purposes only to show how it might be configured, although the wingtip mounted Sparrow is interesting. Never thought the wingtip could take that big of a load in real-world flight conditions. -
on 2004-Jun-20 12:31:56 Anonymous said flipmode
Well, they can carry aim-120s on their wingtips, but i didnt know that they can fit the larger sparrow on them too... -
on 2005-Aug-19 20:48:42 Anonymous said O.T (aggressor267)
I am sure those sparrows were nowhere near their normal weight. -
on 2009-Jan-21 15:39:24 buzsawyer53 said Sparrows on YF-16
I was there.... and those sparrows were made of PVC pipe and wood. They look great though! -
on 2024-Mar-31 20:01:21 renshkj said In the mid 1970s, USAF was saying that only the F-15 would be doing BVR, and that the new F-16 was too small for these missiles. GD funded the mods to the landing gear doors to demonstrate BVR missile carriage and separation. The single shot of the AIM-7 from YF-16 #2 was an unguided launch.
The AIM-7 on the wing tip was not flown; they did fly with 2 x real AIM-7 on the doors and 2 on stations 2/6 (YF only had 7 stations vs 9 on the production)
On the production aircraft, AIM-120 on the tip is carried with the AIM-9s moving to stations 2/8. The heavier AIM-120 actually improves the flutter characteristic of the wing compared to the AIM-9 on the tip - it acts like a mass balance.
This image is also used in
Aircraft Database:
F-16 #01568
The aircraft used to perform some tests with the AIM-7 Sparrow missile. Only with the introduction of the ADF version of the F-16, a BVR missile capacity was added to the airframe.
Link this photo
- Use in a forum post
- Use to link from other websites