Fighter Jet News

F-16 Timeline

F-16 Events from 1979





1 Jan 1979 The USAF's 16th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron activates at Hill AFB, Utah in anticipation of receiving the F-16.
23 Jan 1979 USAF's 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, is the first unit anywhere to receive the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
26 Jan 1979 BAF accepts first F-16 produced by a European assembly line (#FB-01).
3 May 1979 First flight of the first Dutch built F-16 (#J-259) with Fokker test pilot Henk Temmen at the controls. (Read more...)
7 May 1979 Three F-16s complete four-month-long environmental and opertional test program in Europe.
10 May 1979 First Dutch-assembled F-16 completes maiden flight.
11 May 1979 Delivery of F-16A #78-0007, the first F-16 built on the assembly line. All previous F-16s (16 in total) were built by hand. (Read more...)
5 Jun 1979 The Royal Netherlands Air Force accepts its first F-16. (Read more...)
9 Aug 1979 First crash of an F-16. A Belgian air force pilot, part of the 16 TFTS (OT&E), flew a USAF aircraft (#78-0078) into the ground during final approach.
Sep 1979 Firing M61 A1 Vulcan gun temporarily forbidden for all 106 operational F-16s delivered to date, after it was discovered that vibrations from the firing gun resulted in uncommanded yaw movements. (Read more...)
25 Sep 1979 First production F-16B block 5 (#78-0099) is delivered to the USAF. (Read more...)
9 Oct 1979 First production F-16A block 5 (#78-0022) is delivered to the USAF.
20 Dec 1979 IDFAF accepts first F-16 from Peace Marbel I order, following an 11-hour, 6,000-mile ferry flight from Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire.