Lockheed Martin F-16W - FINISHED - PAG.13

[DogfighterZen]

Cheers, guys! 
Indeed, Tophe, this time i wanted shorter tails, closer to what the real design had them. It's hard to know exactly how this area would've been on a real twin tailed F-16 but from the few variations there were of this design on the drawings that i was able to find, i believe they'd be different from what i did but this is supposed to be a more recent design to be adapted to the normal F-16 airframe.
I imagine that these upgrade packs would be quite extensive, also because older airframes could also be refurbished to zero flying hours condition during this modernization program, which, i believe would make more sense considering everything that would have to be done just for the new intake, wings, stabs and engine, not to mention the digital components for new systems... 
Basically, all you'd keep from an old F-16A would be the main fuselage shell and maybe a few electronic and mechanical components... Even the landing gear would be changed to the later heavy weight type.

[Wardukw]

Well their at Block 60 for the modernization and upgrade packages for the F-16 so this can be the Block 80 package which is much more extensive than the normal upgrade packages.

[DogfighterZen]

Well their at Block 60 for the modernization and upgrade packages for the F-16 so this can be the Block 80 package which is much more extensive than the normal upgrade packages.

They're actually producing the Block 70/72 now, and the in the upgrade department they're calling it the F-16V. The V is the upgrade program with the AESA radar and a few other things intended as modernization for older blocks. The new production Block 70/72 will already have the all the bells and whistles from the start. In my imagination, the mods i'm doing could be retrofitted to the older blocks as well integrated in the production lines of new Block 70/72, just to make them contemporary.

BTW, not sure if you're aware but, the F-16E/F Block 60 is a different machine in many ways and it was exclusively producer for the UAE with a lot of stuff that isn't available for anyone else. Lockheed signed an agreement with the UAE regarding the use of the technology developed for those Vipers. There's an AESA radar, radome is different, no pitot tube, different panel lines. The base of the tail has a different "swollen" shape to it, lots of scoops and vents not present on normal Vipers. And the whole cockpit, ECM and RWR suite, IRST, engine, etc...
Some people claim that, even with the tech in the new F-16V block 70/72, the Block 60 are still the most capable Vipers out there because of the tech and the more powerful GE F110-132, of the 32,000lb class compared to the GE F110-129 of 29,000lb used on almost every other Block40/50.
Strange to me is why the US air force chose the -129 instead of the -132 for the F-15EX. The -132 was made for the F-15 and F-16 so, i don't understand why they chose the older, less powerful version...

[Wardukw]

Ahhh well ..strange as this will be for me especially to say but sometimes more power is to much .
Aircraft can do strange things when they move to fast and very high speeds can overwhelm the aerodynamics and they don't work as well as intended.
It's possible the older models all ready had everything right for dog fighting and just needed better electronics.
It's like the Mig 25..at its top speed its turning circle is a week but at low speeds it still sucks ..she's not a dog fighter after all but a F15 has the same problem at high speed..at much lower speeds she can dance as the F16s can .
There is some quite serious issues with aircraft trying to maneuver at very high speeds ..one the pilot will experience extremely high Gs and that's if he can get the plane to make a shape turn ..then there's the structural aspect...things will break off and from what I've heard that's not very good 

[DogfighterZen]

Yeah, i'm aware and agree with the speed issues but i believe the main issue here is thrust to weight ratio, not necessarily top speed. I remember reading that, as long as it's controllable, more thrust is always welcome on jet aircraft. 
One reason i can imagine that could cause that choice is price and maybe also new -129s are better and the-132 isn't needed or justified? Thrust class is still 29,000lb so that's the same but maybe there are other improvements...
The F-16 only has one engine so thrust to weight ratio is a big factor and with the jet getting heavier with the add-ons, even more so.
Anyway, that's a real world matter so it really doesn't affect much on here, does it?   

[Wardukw]

Yeah, i'm aware and agree with the speed issues but i believe the main issue here is thrust to weight ratio, not necessarily top speed. I remember reading that, as long as it's controllable, more thrust is always welcome on jet aircraft. 
One reason i can imagine that could cause that choice is price and maybe also new -129s are better and the-132 isn't needed or justified? Thrust class is still 29,000lb so that's the same but maybe there are other improvements...
The F-16 only has one engine so thrust to weight ratio is a big factor and with the jet getting heavier with the add-ons, even more so.
Anyway, that's a real world matter so it really doesn't affect much on here, does it?   

Hell no it don't 
Here our jets can fly upside down and backwards at the same time  .
Reverse thrust??...we have reverse flight 
How the hell the pilot can see where he's going is his problem..we just build em..we don't fly em ..I am kinda glad that's the case cause I know alot of what we build would probably never leave the ground and if it did it wouldn't be for long but it's wiffy would..everything flies Doggy mate 

[DogfighterZen]

Well, i admit i can get caught up on certain details of a build but for me, that happens mostly when it's something visible on the model. Sometimes there are certain details or ways i do things because otherwise some other aspects of the build may not make sense to me and that can ruin the fun of a build.

Anyway, this party is still going and i have good news... First, i lost one of the Hasegawa kit's main gear struts...
Looked throught the spares box and nada... Tought of stealing the part from another kit but no kit in my stash had any extra gear bits... Thought of not thinking about it and go "in-flight" mode but then i remembered i had 3 SAC white metal gear sets fot Tamiya F-16s so, dug one up and started analysing what i had to do to make them work on the Hase kit.

The Tamiya/SAC gear has a plate that connects both the left and right lower/thinner struts and that plate fits into a slot of the same shape inside the gear bays but, the Hase kit has both struts molded separately and each connect to the bays' aft firewall via small pins that fit into holes on the wall.

What i did was simple, the white metal is as easy to cut and carve as some styrene so i just separated the SAC main struts by cutting the plate and carving out the excess material till all that was left was a pin of the adequate size to fit in the kit exactly like the original parts were supposed to.





I was left in the mood for some more small work so i went ahead and saved some time by adding the GPS dome antenna on the spine. A simple punched out circle of 0,5mm sheet styrene with an old paint brush's brass bit used upside down, gave me the exact diameter i needed for the dome so that was a quick and simple job too. I know i have to get a proper punch and die set...  



So, it's my day off, i have the time and am in the mood so let's see what else i can get done today...
P.S.: And the bonus of the whole gear affair is that now, the kit will have the correct heavy weight gear of the F-16C Block40/50 instead of the old F-16A light weight gear that comes in the Hase F-16 kits.

[Tophe]

Congratulations! for this unexpected solution you have "invented" somehow... (not OOB)

[Wardukw]

Ya gotta love the happy accidents Dog man     

[NARSES2]

Neat work 

[DogfighterZen]

Thanks, guys! The landing gear was so easy to modify it even amazed me how good it came out, looks like it was a part of the kit.
That really cheered me up and i kept working on it last night. Got the gear bays, intake's interior and bump sprayed white. Got a few more details glued on, only small bits like the IRST sensor and "Bird Slicer" antennas in front of the cockpit, the "Beer cans" RWR on the leading edge flaps and bigger bulges for the new wing's bigger attachment fittings on the fuselage.



Last night i was going through photos of the Viper and noticed these bulges on some of them but, the kit has no bulges there so, at first i thought i'd just put a drop of Sprue goo in place and then sand it to leave the small bulges but then i remembered some of the Hasegawa kit's unused parts and the exact bits that would fit perfectly.
These bulges are not present on all F-16s and they're not very visible so no wonder why they're easily overlooked. From what i've read, they were introduced with of one of the structural upgrade programs so that's why not all airframes have them.

This afternoon i'm gonna try to finish the main assembly so, all that's left is to attach the intake and a bunch of other small bits like vents and scoops on the underside.

 

[DogfighterZen]

Yes! Finally i'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel(although it's still a long way there)...





Lumps and bumps added and he's just waiting for the CFTs next...

[Tophe]

Have courage, this model seems worth it!

[DogfighterZen]

Have courage, this model seems worth it!

Yes, i will keep going, Tophe. It's been sidelined too many times and i also think the model is worth it so, the CFTs are in place and now i have to fill the gaps i had to create to adapt them to the twin tails.

[Tophe]

good!