F-16A 75-0746

[Old Viper Tester]

May 1985: Just a little off the beaten path... a USAF F-16 with a parabrake housing. 75-0746 was a Full-Scale Development airframe built to the original Norwegian AF specification - hence the tail fairing. It was also used for a lot of structures testing, so the airframe took a beating.

 

 

All of those g's took their toll on the airframe. They were always replacing panels and patching fuel leaks. Gotta love the putty job on the back.

 

They are tough to see, but there are wedge shaped blocks on top of the noses of the external tanks with wiring running back into the pylons - those are accelerometer housings used to measure the frequency and amplitude of the tank motion (wing deformation) during maneuvers.

 

 

Refueling from NKC-135E, s/n 55-3135

 

 

April 1983, testing Penguins

 

Things under wings: In 1983, '746 was used to evaluate what was called an MPP (Your guess what it stood for is as good as mine). The MPP was an attempt to increase the weapons carriage of the F-16.

 

 

 

 

The MPP didn't catch on.

 

Don't know what this suspension unit was, but it may have been a competitor with the MPP. Looks like an ancestor of the BRU-61 Small Diameter Bomb rack.

 

Thanks for looking,

Sven

Edited June 7, 2018 by Old Viper Tester
typos

[Parabat]

Great shots, the MPP is a Multi Purpose Pylon, which I believe wasn't adopted because of flutter problems. 

[Vingtor]

Most welcome! Very interesting. Please bring on photos of more F-16 FSD aircraft. I hope to do a decal sheet one day.

 

Nils

[Red Dot]

Very interesting again Sven, thanks

 

Andy

Edited June 13, 2018 by Red Dot

[spaddad]

Ace photo's Sven, as usual, thanks.