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vadrp
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 Posted: Jun 06, 2009 - 10:08 PM
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Newbie
Joined: Mar 23, 2009 - 10:22 PM
Posts: 16
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So ..... when did the mighty  Fighting Falcon become the lowly Viper???? I thought the term "Viper" was reserved for the U.S.N.'s version ! !  |
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vadrap - fighter jet fixer
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Sponsor
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 Posted: May 23, 2013 - 7:24 AM
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F-16.net Sponsor
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Boman
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Posted: Jun 06, 2009 - 11:02 PM
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Elite 1K
Joined: Jul 08, 2004 - 08:22 PM
Posts: 1106
Status: Offline
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StolichnayaStrafer
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Posted: Jun 06, 2009 - 11:53 PM
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Joined: Jan 20, 2008 - 04:50 PM
Posts: 854
Location: Dodge City, Moscowchusetts
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I always loved the original name, right from the start. The shoulder flash/swirl patch was great for it too...
especially when it became an Aggressor bird, and altering the name just a bit into "Fighting Fulcrum".
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Why is the vodka gone?
Why is the vodka always gone... oh- that's why!
Hide the vodka!!!
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Gums
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Posted: Jun 07, 2009 - 05:05 AM
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Elite 1K
Joined: Dec 16, 2003 - 05:26 PM
Posts: 1439
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salute
back in seventy-nine the thing looked 'snakey' when viewed from below and in front. more like a cobra, but northrop had already taken that name for the 'other' flyoff plane.
then there was this tv show called 'battlestar galactica', with the colonial vipers.
none of us wanted 'fighting falcon', and the french already had a buz jet with the name.
the air force would not accept a reptile for a nickname. but most of us called it the viper and i have an autographed book from chuck horner of desert storm fame [ also my first wing king student in the viper]. he signed it, 'from one viper has been to another'.
leter,
gums sends .... |
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Gums
Viper pilot '79
"God in your guts, good men at your back, wings that stay on - and Tally Ho!"
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LinkF16SimDude
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Posted: Jun 07, 2009 - 06:01 AM
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Elite 2K
Joined: Jan 31, 2004 - 07:18 PM
Posts: 2365
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| Maybe Gums can check me on this but I heard another vicious rumor that one name suggested was "Mustang II" in honor of the P-51. However Ford had given that moniker to a pretty crappy version of their Mustang and the AF didn't want the newest toy in the box to be associated with it. Just an unconfirmed story. |
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Why does "monosyllabic" have 5 syllables?
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cywolf32
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Posted: Jun 07, 2009 - 06:04 AM
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Forum Veteran
Joined: Nov 21, 2005 - 12:04 PM
Posts: 615
Location: USA
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| "Viper" has never officially been the accepted name. Just as "Warthog" was never the official name for the A-10 or "Buff" for the B-52. It's just one of those military things that we do. And I would consider "Viper" not lowly at all considering what it implies. Cheers Gums. Those are memories that simply cannot be replaced. |
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popcorn
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Posted: Jun 07, 2009 - 02:18 PM
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Elite 2K
Joined: Sep 24, 2008 - 09:55 AM
Posts: 2037
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LinkF16SimDude wrote:
Maybe Gums can check me on this but I heard another vicious rumor that one name suggested was "Mustang II" in honor of the P-51. However Ford had given that moniker to a pretty crappy version of their Mustang and the AF didn't want the newest toy in the box to be associated with it. Just an unconfirmed story.
I'd read something along those lines a long time ago. |
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Gums
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Posted: Jun 07, 2009 - 04:56 PM
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Elite 1K
Joined: Dec 16, 2003 - 05:26 PM
Posts: 1439
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nicknames
yeah, we talked about a lot of nicknames.
general dynamics had built deltas, but this thing wasn't a delta. and folks called the previous deltas 'duece' and 'six', not 'dagger' or' dart'. folks took the derogatory 'thud' description of the 'thunderchief' and the name became a badge of honor if you ever flew it. at one time we dragonfly folks even used the nickname - 'thundersqueak', heh heh. nobody called the 'super sabre' anything except 'hun'.
before we became operational, general dynamics had put out a great public relations film called 'bird of prey', and the falcon was portrayed over and over. somewhere along the way some usaf weenies decided we had to add 'fighting' to distinguish it from the french biz jet. the name also complemented 'eagle'.
the brits had already taken 'kestrel' and 'harrier'. mcair had taken 'eagle'. and i don't think folks would have liked 'chickenhawk', 'sparrowhawk', 'kite', 'osprey', 'erne', etc. some of us asked that we simply use 'falcon', but the weenies upstairs still added 'fighting'. it sounded just too hokey to us.
meanwhile, the real folks that worked on and flew the thing kept using 'viper'. amazing, but one day at red flag there i was in a colonial 'viper', but my callsign was 'cylon'. still laugh at that one.
later,
gums sends...
p.s. sorry about character limits, but keyboard on this old laptop went fubar. |
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Gums
Viper pilot '79
"God in your guts, good men at your back, wings that stay on - and Tally Ho!"
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Butcher
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Posted: Jun 07, 2009 - 06:43 PM
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Active Member
Joined: Jun 21, 2008 - 06:37 AM
Posts: 104
Location: Larnaca, Cyprus
Status: Offline
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cywolf32 wrote:
"Viper" has never officially been the accepted name. Just as "Warthog" was never the official name for the A-10 or "Buff" for the B-52. It's just one of those military things that we do. And I would consider "Viper" not lowly at all considering what it implies. Cheers Gums. Those are memories that simply cannot be replaced.
Never been accepted but they still go and name a demo team "Viper West"  |
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vadrp
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Posted: Jun 29, 2009 - 07:42 PM
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Newbie
Joined: Mar 23, 2009 - 10:22 PM
Posts: 16
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| Cool ...I thank you all for your replies |
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vadrap - fighter jet fixer
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