General Dynamics have made several different versions which play an important role in our era. The single-seated F-16A's, and the double-seated F-16B's begin under construction in 1975. The Falcon has a fixed-wing, and weighs only 250 lbs., and it is made up of mostly aluminum alloy. The fuselage of the Falcon is made mostly of metal, and the powerplant to propell this jet is one Pratt & Whitney Turbofan engine, which can 25,000 lbs. of thrust, when on afterburner. The Falcon can carry a variey of armament. The average load on every mission is one 20 mm multibarel cannon, two wingtip sidewinders, and up to four on the outer wings. They also can carry Mavericks, HARMs, Harpoons, Sparrows, JBU 500-2000 lb. bombs, and much more. These are only used on missions where they will be using them, because of weight.
Specifications of the Falcon
Length: Excluding nose probe, 47'7.75" (14.52 m)
Wing Span: 31' (9.45 m) without missile, 32'10" (10.01 m) over wing-tip missiles
Height: 16'5.5" (5.01 m)
Undercarriage track: 7'9" (2.36 m)
Weight: Operational empty, 18238 lb , other sources say that it is 14,567 lb. (6613 kg)
Max Take Off Weight: Air-to-air missions, wing-tip missile only, 23,300 lb (10570 kg). Interdiction mission, 35,400 lb (16060 kg) up to Block 20 and 37,500 lb (16,875 kg) for Block 25 aircraft
Thrust/Weight Ratio: The t/w ratio for the f-16c{clean} is 1.02 to 1. if the f-16c is armed with 6 amraams,2 sidewinders, 515 rounds of ammoand 6846 pounds of fuel+ one 200 pound pilot. The t/w ratio of the f-16a with the F100-PW-200 is .8 to 1.
Speed: Max speed (with wing-tip sidewinders), 1,350 mph (2170 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12190m) or Mach=2.05, and 915 mpp, (1472 km/h) at sea level or Mach=1.2; tactical radius (interdiction mission HI-LO-HI on internal fuel with six 500-lb (227-kg) MK 82 bombs), 340 mls (550 km).
Range: More than 2,000 miles ferry range (1,740 nautical miles)
Armanent: One General Electric M61A-1 Vulcan 20-mm multi-barrel gun port wing/fuselage fairing, with 515 rounds. Theoreiticlly, it can carry up to 20,200 lbs. of external ordnance on nine stations, including wing-tip AAMs Crew.
Unit cost: F-16A/C: 1; F-16B/D $20 million; F-16C/D over $20 million
Engine: The F-16 features the world's finest fighter engines. The F-16A is powered by the 24,000-lb class F100-PW-220. The F-16C offers a choice of two 29,000-lb class engines: the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 or the General Electric F110-GE-129. Future engine improvements will likely produce a 31,000 to 35,000 lb of thrust class engine. The forward engine air inlet is sized to optimize the performance of the selected engine. All three engines have electronic engine controls and other advanced technologies that produce high thrust-to-weight, high-cruise efficiency, unrestricted operation by the pilot, quick response to throttle changes, ease of air starts, high durability (4000 TAC cycles), high reliability, low maintenance requirements, ease of maintenance (including self-diagnostics and fault reporting), and full thrust retention over time. These attributes translate into high performance, high pilot confidence, high in-commission rates, low operating and support costs, and excellent safety. Engine growth plans include improvements to thrust, reliability, maintainability and signature. Potential exists for adding a thrust-vectoring nozzle integrated with the flight control system.
Fuel: The F-16's fuel capacity 6846 pounds internal. Other source say that it's 1,072 US gallons(40601) in F-16A, 889-8 US gallons (33681) in F-16B, plus provision for 300 US gallons (11361) tank on fuselage center line and two 370 US gallons (14001) tanks under wings.
Date Deployed: January 1979
Thanks again for visiting my site...it took a while, but was fun to make...well I hope when you think of the Falcon, you think of a Fighter that stands out from the rest of the crowd! -Josiah Garcia