F-16XL Rollout, First Flight, Flight Testing 1982 General Dynamics (JQ Music)

more at http://quickfound.net/

Originally a public domain film from the US Air Force, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16XL

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The General Dynamics F-16XL is a derivative of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, with a cranked-arrow delta wing. It was originally conceived as a technology demonstrator, later entered in the United States Air Force's (USAF) Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) competition but lost to the F-15E Strike Eagle. Several years after the prototypes were shelved, they were turned over to NASA for additional aeronautical research. Both aircraft are currently stored at Edwards AFB...

In 1977, the F-16XL started out as the F-16 SCAMP (Supersonic Cruise and Maneuver Prototype) at General Dynamics Fort Worth. Under the leadership of Harry Hillaker (father of the original F-16), the original goal of the program was to be a quick project to demonstrate the applicability of supersonic transport technologies to military aircraft. The big wing generated a lot of lift, and typical aerodynamic limitations of delta wings were overcome by the F-16's relaxed static stability. The F-16's electronic flight control system was tweaked to allow control at high angles of attack. The wing was also a big fuel tank which greatly increased range. The study went on for two years. The goal of the cranked arrow was to have a high sweep inboard panel for low drag at supersonic speeds, and a low sweep outboard panel to provide better handling and maneuverability at subsonic speeds...

In 1980, the USAF signed on as a partner, providing the third and fifth production F-16 airframes for conversion. These two airframes became the only examples of the F-16XL.

In March 1981, the USAF announced the Enhanced Tactical Fighter program to procure a replacement for the F-111 Aardvark. The concept envisioned an aircraft capable of launching deep interdiction missions without requiring additional support in the form of fighter escort or jamming support. Under the leadership of program director Randy Kent, General Dynamics submitted the F-16XL, while McDonnell Douglas submitted a variant of the F-15 Eagle. Though the two aircraft were competing for the same role, they were fairly different in design approach. The F-15E is basically an F-15D two-seat trainer with the back-seat station modified to support ground-attack instruments, while the F-16XL has major structural and aerodynamic differences from the original F-16. As such, the XL would have required much more effort, time and money to put into full production. Additionally, the Strike Eagle has two engines, which gives it more thrust and capacity to carry more weapons and/or armor. Furthermore, engine redundancy can be very useful for an aircraft whose mission involves operating within the reach of anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles, in addition to the standard threats of fighter aircraft and interceptors.

In February 1984, the USAF awarded the ETF contract to McDonnell Douglas. The two F-16XLs were returned to the Air Force and placed in storage at Edwards Air Force Base, Mojave, California...

In 1988, the two aircraft were taken out of storage and turned over to NASA for research. The first aircraft was fitted with an active suction titanium glove encasing the left wing and delivered to the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards AFB... It was intended to suck away turbulent airflow over the wing, restoring laminar flow and reducing drag. The aircraft was also involved in testing sonic boom characteristics, takeoff performance, and engine noise, for NASA's civil transport program.

The second aircraft (a two-seater) had its experimental engine replaced with a General Electric F110-129. It accidentally achieved supercruise, a design goal of the F-16XL that was never attained in ETF testing, when it reached Mach 1.1 at 20,000 ft (6,096 m) on full military power. It was mounted with a passive fiberglass and foam glove on the right wing to examine supersonic flow, and an active glove on the left wing... The glove is intended as a testbed for supersonic laminar flow.

The F-16XL flight project office was located at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, CA. The NASA Langley Research Center, developed and coordinated F-16XL experiments.

At the conclusion of their test programs in 1999, both F-16XLs were placed into storage at NASA Dryden. In 2007,..