F-16 very first flight

Michel Van

Michel Van

ACCESS: Above Top Secret
Senior Member
Joined
13 August 2007
Messages
7,166
Reaction score
6,564
Last edited:
Very nicely done, that pilot.
 
View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2VBiHaLYp7/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D


The story of the inadvertent "Flight 0" has become a legend. The morning of 20 Jan 1974 began with an uneventful low-speed taxi test of General Dynamics' entry in the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) competition (less than two weeks after the YF-16 prototype had been delivered to Edwards AFB). A high-speed taxi was scheduled for the afternoon of the very same day!

Threatened by an approaching front bringing wind gusts and lightning (a real concern for the "all-electric" YF-16), the test team hustled to complete the high-speed taxi before the storm. The test card called for GD's test pilot Phil Oestricher to bring the throttle to idle at the end of the high-speed run, pitch the nose up to reduce the weight on the mains, and make some roll inputs to get a lateral feel for the aircraft.

Due to a combination of factors--inaccurate lateral gains in the sim, higher than expected ground idle (actually flight idle), a fixed sidestick with no movement to provide cues to the pilot--the aircraft pitched nose high (> 10 deg), the mains left the runway, the aircraft rolled sharply left and the station 1 AIM-9 contacted the runway. This was followed by a rapid right roll & right stabilator contact with the runway. Struggling to control the aircraft through a series of erratic rolls, bouncing mains and pitch oscillations, the aircraft drifted to the side of the runway and nearly departed the prepared surface. Oestricher advanced the throttle and elected to takeoff rather than eject. He made a gentle left turn and landed the aircraft after a six-minute flight.

The subsequent investigation commended Oestricher for saving the prototype and concluded that the PIO was caused by extremely sensitive control gain compounded by the zero-displacement sidestick. The aircraft was repaired and less than two weeks later(!) had it first "official" flight on 2 Feb 1974 (designated as "Flight 1B" by the program).
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom