Test Support Viper - 78-0085

[Old Viper Tester]

Pretty sure 78-0085 came to Edwards from Luke AFB.  

 

 

78-0085 carried the name FIREBIRD on the inside of the nose gear door when it arrived and the name remained when she was repainted.

 

December 1991, we are on a solo mission in F-16D s/n 83-1176, and were called to join up with '085, also on a solo mission, because they had an unsafe gear indication in the cockpit. Nose and left gear up and locked, right gear indicating still in transition.  Here, we've come aboard. Note the gear doors aren't completely closed

 

The gear is up, but the right main gear door is still open

 

Selecting gear down and checking the gear extension

 

The gear looks good. Don't remember if they had a down and locked, i.e. "three green", indication or not. Elected to return to base.

 

On our wing over Rogers Dry Lake on straight-in final for landing. Note that we had a wing tip launcher from one of the Bozo Fleet jets and '085 had two grey launchers.

 

Giving them the lead to land while we continue our mission.

 

 

Saw them through to safe landing and then we continued into the operating area for our mission.

 

Thanks for looking,

Sven

[Troffa]

Great shots- love the scheme- here's my attempt from a few years ago:

 

AFFTC Viper

[72modeler]

Sven,

Thank you, thank, you, thank you! Exactly the F-16B I want to do. You have made this modeler a happy man! That is one pretty weenie cooker!

Mike

[Red Dot]

Super story yet again. Were you a jinx? It seems that you were flying every time they had an incident!

 

 

thanks

andy

[Old Viper Tester]

6 hours ago, Red Dot said:

Were you a jinx? It seems that you were flying every time they had an incident!

I've had my share of in-flight emergencies (IFEs), maybe even less so😉 I was on chase for several missile tests that didn't work out, but I think just about every test engineer in the '80s had the same experience. Cruise missile tests were to work out the bugs, and there were a lot of them.

 

I was scheduled to chase the TACIT RAINBOW anti-radiation missile three times. We typically flew a tag team of two pairs of T-38 chase over the China Lake range. One pair would take off and cover the launch and chase the missile while it established its orbit. The Navy always had an A-3 in the air with equipment to take control of the missile if necessary. The second pair of '38s would take off about 30 minutes later to relieve the first pair as they ran low on fuel. On every TACIT RAINBOW mission, I drew the second launch and every one went something like this:

 

Takeoff and contact range control, go to mission frequency and orbit outside the China Lake airspace waiting to be called in. Every time we got on the mission frequency you could tell things were not going well. A lot of chatter...

 

"It's off course!"

"Did you take control?"

"Nosey (the A-3), do you have control?)

"Look out for the ridge..."

"It's too low..."

"Turn right, turn right... No climb first!"

"Never mind. Call in recovery."

 

Then mission control would tell us we could return to base or do an alternate mission. Since we were already airborne we usually did formation proficiency. On two of the three missions the missile flew into terrain and on the third the motor didn't fire and the missile imitated a Mk82. In the end, TACIT RAINBOW was cancelled.

 

I'll have to see if I have shots from the mission when the F-16XL had an elevator actuator break. Maybe I was a jinx,

 

Sven

 

[Red Dot]

hi Sven,

 

That's really interesting and at least they had the good sense to stop the programme before wasting more money. Having been to China Lake, at least the missile had a lot of land to crash in safely

 

Andy

Edited June 23, 2018 by Red Dot

[F-32]

Perfect 👌