F-16 Fighting Falcon News

April 29, 2009 (by AFNS) - The Museum of Aviation will open to the public a permanent Thunderbirds F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft exhibit May 3, the same day the Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team will perform at nearby Robins AFB.
The aircraft, once a part of the demonstration team, has been repainted in the red-white-and-blue paint scheme and will be on display in the Century of Flight Hangar here.

Besides the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, the Museum of Aviation is now the only other Air Force museum in the country to have a former Thunderbirds F-16 on display.

"We are proud to be one of only two Air Force museums to have such a display," said Ken Emery, the museum director. "Besides the aircraft, we'll display some of the uniforms and equipment used by the Thunderbirds team and show how the team represents all U.S. Air Force men and women doing their jobs around the world."

The museum gained the F-16 a year ago from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where it had been used as a maintenance trainer for several years. It flew as the No. 2 and No. 3 aircraft in the Thunderbirds formation from 1983 until 1991 when the Air Force team converted to the newer model F-16C.