Tour The F-16’s Cockpit And Learn How To Fight In It In These Rad Vintage Videos

Updated Oct 28, 2017 10:41 PM EDT

The internet has brought us so many things, but for any aviation or military technology enthusiast, one of the best of those things is the seemingly endless trove digitalized vintage air combat videos from decades gone by. Ranging from the hilarious squadron videos from the pre-Tailhook scandal era, to Cal’s Used Fighter Jet Emporium , to no-nonsense defense contractor promotional reels , box set documentaries, government instructional tapes, and just about everything in between.

And by “in between” we mean this at first seemingly outright corny, but turns out to be actually pretty awesome instructional supplement video made by the software development firm known for their simulators, Spectrum HoloByte. This video in particular was made for their hugely popular FALCON 3.0 air combat simulator based around the F-16.

The video is early 1990s nostalgia central—the set, the music, the serious tone, and make sure to stay tuned for the clunky Thrustmaster cockpit simulator bookend ad at the end.

The very well cast F-16 instructor pilot and host, Pete “Boomer” Bonanni , does an outstanding job at describing Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) tactics, and he even uses that “cutting-edge” tele-illustrator in the process. The “students” in their flight suits are pretty hilarious looking, but they do help with filling out the presentation. Overall the entire time capsule of a video is really worth watching, both for nostalgic laughs and for brushing up on your BFM knowledge base.

This second video—which is unrelated production-wise to the first but compliments it nicely—gives us a quick tour of the early F-16C (Block 25) cockpit configuration. It goes into some of the improvements over the earlier F-16A’s cockpit features, and also gives a run-down on the basic Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod concept which would find itself on the Block 40 variant of the USAF F-16C/D.

If you are interested in what it was like to actually fly and fight in the F-16, you can get an unprecedented Navy Topgun instructor’s perspective here , as well as a USAF Weapons School instructor’s take here . We have also talked to a pilot and bestselling author who is widely considered to be the deadliest F-16 pilot of all time about his time in the “Viper’s” pit, check out those features here and here .

Pilots will continue to experience combat in F-16s for many decades to come as the “Electric Jet” is likely to continue its production run past the 50th anniversary of its first flight, with the USAF now planning to keep the type in service till at least 2048.

Tyler Rogoway/Author

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2017年10月28日晚上10:41

互联网给我们带来了很多东西，但对于任何航空或军事技术爱好者来说，其中最棒的东西之一就是浩如烟海的数字化老式空战视频，这些视频来自几十年前。从“尾钩”丑闻爆发前那些滑稽的飞行中队视频，到卡尔的二手战斗机交易会，再到严肃的国防承包商宣传片、纪录片套装、政府教学录像带，以及介于两者之间的几乎所有内容，应有尽有。

而我们所说的“中间部分”，指的是这段乍看之下略显老套，但实际上却是由以模拟器闻名的软件开发公司 Spectrum HoloByte 制作的非常棒的教学补充视频。这段视频是专门为他们广受欢迎的 FALCON 3.0 空战模拟器制作的，该模拟器以 F-16 战斗机为基础。

这段视频充满了 20 世纪 90 年代早期的怀旧气息——布景、音乐、严肃的基调，而且一定要留意结尾处笨拙的 Thrustmaster 驾驶舱模拟器广告。

这位F-16教官兼主持人皮特·“布默”·博纳尼（Pete “Boomer” Bonanni）演绎得非常出色，他不仅讲解了基础战斗机机动（BFM）战术，还巧妙地运用了当时最先进的电视演示设备。身着飞行服的“学员”们看起来十分滑稽，但他们的确为演示增添了不少趣味。总而言之，这部充满怀旧气息的视频非常值得一看，既能唤起人们的怀旧之情，又能帮助你温习BFM知识。

第二段视频——虽然制作上与第一段视频无关，但相得益彰——简要介绍了早期F-16C（Block 25）的座舱布局。视频讲解了相比早期F-16A座舱的一些改进之处，并概述了低空导航和目标指示红外夜视系统（LANTIRN）吊舱的基本概念，该吊舱后来被应用于美国空军F-16C/D的Block 40型。

如果您想了解驾驶F-16战斗机作战的真实体验，可以点击此处阅读一位海军“壮志凌云”教官的独到见解，以及点击此处阅读一位美国空军武器学校教官的亲身经历。此外，我们还采访了一位被公认为史上最致命的F-16飞行员兼畅销书作家，了解他在“蝰蛇”战机中的经历，点击此处和此处查看相关报道。

飞行员们将在未来几十年继续驾驶 F-16 战斗机参与战斗，因为这款“电动喷气式飞机”的生产可能会持续到首飞 50 周年之后，而美国空军现在计划至少将该机型服役到 2048 年。

泰勒·罗戈韦/作者

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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