I used to think that the F-16 was USAF’s cheapest bottom tier fighter, but this channel has made me realize that it’s actually a premier aircraft and a vital part of the USAF’s arsenal.
Every aircraft is a set of tradeoffs. The F-16 traded thrust to weight for versatility and maneuverability. The USAF has the budget to (almost) get a dedicated plane for every role, and yet the F-16 was just so much of a Swiss army knife that it became "and the F-16 for everything we didn't think of ahead of time". People often forget the full saying of "Jack of all trades, master of none" ends in "is often better than a master of one".
@@andersjjensen "People often forget the full saying of 'Jack of all trades, master of none' ends in 'is often better than a master of one'." I never knew that. Thanks! 😀
@@andersjjensen actually at the time of its development in the late 60s and early 70s the F-16 had probably the second-best thrust-to-weight ratio in the world (very best if counting the YF-16 which was significantly lighter than production variants), and that's because it was specifically designed for dogfighting which requires low mass, small size and high thrust. It is true that the F-16 was envisioned by some (the infamous Fighter Mafia) to be a dedicated air-to-air platform but they had very limited sway over the Air Force and General Dynamics beyond making sure the F-16 was small and lightweight. Similarly to the F-15, the F-16 ended up being able to carry ground ordnance because the Air Force was not about to give up multirole capability. The last truly purpose-built plane the Air Force bought is the A-10 and it is OK at its job, assuming air superiority is already achieved and the enemy doesn't have much in terms of air defense. But planes like the F-16 and F/A-18 are overall just as if not more effective than the A-10 because they can carry similar payloads and reach the target much faster. Being actual fighters also helps in self-defense since they are more maneuverable.
When I was much younger, a Wing of F-16s from the local Air Force Base got themselves into a competition exercise for bombers, and won it. That's what made me an F-16 fan.
One day a couple of months ago these videos randomly popped into my feed and I've never played DCS myself or any other flight sim. Now I'm sitting here, seeing the Mig go into the merge too fast and before GS could explain I knew it was going to be an issue for him because he created enough distance for the Fox 2. I'm becoming a fighter pilot just watching these videos
7:40 That second 9M went off close enough to the pilot just as his chute was opening, I think he's got some holes in him...possibly many holes... Double-tapping so he doesn't come back as a zombie, aka go on to fly ANOTHER MiG at you, I see :)
I know this is DCS but I like on Plover Circle on Lake Worth lake in Ft Worth. Not only do I live directly across the lake from Lockheed Martin (formally General Dynamics)/Joint Reserve Base-Naval Air Station (formally Carswell AFB where I was born) my brother started working at General Dynamics at 18 & he's still there & now 61 yrs old & our father retired 33 yrs USAF full bird Col & our grandfather back when it was Consolidated. I've probably seen (or heard lol) damn near every single F-16 that has flown out of that place brand spanking new. That including the F-16XL models throughout their testing phases. I'm so old school that I remember the first F-16 that rolled out of the hanger (helps having family in the know) nothing but F-4 Phantoms, B-52s & that one F-16 parked out there
Double kill is 2 planes toasted with a single missile - What he did there was a full kill, followed by pure gory violence show-off, on the dismembered Mig-29 and it's pilot.
You didn't waste that fox two. You were just making REALLY sure that Mig was going down. Just because it was on fire and tumbling, doesn't mean it was out of the fight. Certainly not!
Can you fly with a haveglass variant? Having a little more stealth and see what that does? Any chance to go with a modern digital cockpit? Any mods for that? See if the low visibility gives you more of an edge in a dangerous environment.
Is there anything that this little bird cannot do? It's a flying office, it serve your coffee, destroys the enemy and take you back home.......! Love the viper.
When I built my F-16 model, its "loadout" was two wingtip Sidewinders, two Sparrows (before the AIM-120 were on model planes), six 500lb bombs, and the belly tank. 😂
If in reality air force and Navy and marine have pilots like you going with F16 fully loaded against two MIG29 just gets there to kill you and you not drop your load to skip or fight them keep your every thing and do hull job so fast and perfect we are really lucky to be an american. Thank so much GS this one was really special ❤❤❤❤
F16❤ love this jetfighter so much. Unfortunately our Dutch F16's only have 13 days left in active duty. The 27th this month our Dutch F16's will retire😢
Great mission, great video, great explanations and descriptions by you and very entertaining to watch and educational. As always. Thank you for all your videos. I recommend your channel to people I know. If they choose to watch, that´s great, if not - then they don´t know what they are missing :D Great stuff! Br //M
My 2 favorite planes in DCS. But the Viper is my #1. I really like when you fly the F-16. Are the missions you fly in your videos available for download anywhere?
I wonder if anything aerodynamically can be done to the Viper that would help with its one circle fight capability without sacrificing its two circle performance?
Yeah all you puppies wish you flew the Viper. Probably since the time you wore a diaper. We got every mission that you do. And fly 'em all, better than you. Yeah all you puppies wish you flew the Viper. 'Cause we're single seat, multi-role, We can fly right up our own a-hole Yeah all you puppies wish you flew the Viper.
