PART I

Background:

The F16 is a single-seat lightweight fighter and attack aircraft. It was originally designed to compete in the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) prototype program. Of the origianl five contracts awarded; only those submitted by General Dynamics and Northrop were chosen to build prototypes. The General Dynamics company built the YF-16 and the Northrop design was the YF-17, respectively.

The first YF-16 flew on 20 January 1974. In January of the following year, the Secretary of the USAF announced that the design from General Dynamics had won the contract and full-scale production would begin soon. The original requirement of the F-16 was as daytime air-superiority fighter was expanded to include a equal amount of air-to-ground mission capability. This would make the F-16 a true multi-role fighter in the similar but vastly superior likeness to the venerable F-4 Phantom.

There were going to be a few "firsts" achieved by the F-16. One was that it would be the first complete fly-by-wire (FBW) aircraft. Another first was that it would be not only lightweight but very low cost. Estimates of the original F16's cost run around 15-20 million. Meanwhile, the F-16's big brother, the twin-engined F-15 was still in mass production. This air-superiority fighter was costing the USAF around 40 million per plane!

The first development F-16A flew on 8 December 1976. The USAF indicated it's original intent to purchase 1,388 F-16s. The first production F-16A flew in August of 1978 and by the end of 1996 over 4000 F16's had been built. For some reason (still fully unexplained) the USAF decided to indicate different version of the F-16 as "block models".

To date there have been nearly 10 different block models bought by the USAF. While the incorporation of fly-by-wire was understood as "futuristic" another computer driven innovation was quickly being brought to the forefront. Simulators had finally come of age with the rising power of processors capable of "simulating" a fully functional and modern combat aircraft.

1st Generation Military Simulators:

When I was first offered the chance to fly a simulator at a local ANG base close to my hometown I jumped at the opportunity. Fortunate for me was that I knew someone who had access to a F16 simulator. Ramsey Hammad had been a friend of mine for nearly 8 years and he and I had traversed through military school (MMA) together.

Upon graduating (different years) we became even closer since leaving school. He soon joined the USMC Reserve and was later transferred to a Command Post job at the ANG base where I would (to date) accumulate over 12 F16 simulator hours.

Upon entering the room where the sim was stationed it was quite a thrilling site. The room was hot due to all the "computers" running. The cockpit was identical to what I had seen in pictures and I was told that I was going to fly a block 15 F16 that had been upgraded to Air Defense Variant (ADV) status which meant that this version F16 was a air-to-air specialist. These pilots trained for dogfighting alone. The sim was on "rent" from General Dynamics and along with it came an operator. He was an older, very friendly gentleman named Jim.

He quickly greeted me and after exchanging pleasantries rolled back the seat of the F16 (the seat was on rails. It would "roll back" to allow the pilot to slip into the seat so he did not have to try and climb over all the controls.) and I sat down. I was rolled forward and there were controls on the right panel behind and to the right of the stick to allow me to "adjust" the seat up and down.

There was a knob (just like some cars) near the front of the seat that would allow the pilot to move the seat forward and back. Jim stood just to my left and where a small control panel with a lighted touch pad screen was located. From this position he could "load" any simulation that I wished to experience.

My first impression of the sim after being "wheeled" into it was one of awe. To actually put my hands on the throttle and stick was absolutely thrilling. For those of you who have the Thrustmaster FLCS and TQS you can rest assured that they are "exact" replicas of the F16 stick and throttle. Switches and dials literally surround the pilot and I know that all F16 pilots must be able to reach behind them, without seeing or turning and by "feel" know what they are and where they are located.

The screen was similar to those used by big screen TVs. It must have measured approximately 60" and had a deep blue/black screen which was concave. There were 2 MFDs and one "radar" screen. The radar screen sat sight between my legs and was exactly like those seen in Back to Baghdad, Hornet 3.0 or Falcon 3.0. Jim showed me how to change radar modes on the throttle, how to change the elevation of the radar (also on the throttle), how the afterburner "engaged" and explained some of the elements of the FBW system.

Soon Jim was loading up my first mission, which was just a rudimentary takeoff. I was looking through the HUD (which was smaller than I had anticipated, causing me to have to further "maneuver" my seat to adjust) when the screen came alive. I must admit that my first impression of the actual graphics was that I was not impressed. The runway was just a green highlight with everything else on the screen black. No graphics to speak of at all! Of course, I had to remember that this sim was probably built som etime around 1978 or so; which caused me to concede that during it's time the simulator was probably the best around.

Part II

Taking off, I had my first chance to manipulate the throttle. It was much easier to move that I had imagined. It was much like a wheel on a power-assisted car in that the slightest touch would cause it to throttle up or down. After contemplating heavy G maneuvers the pilots perform while attempting to throw the throttle back and forth between idle and afterburner, this "easiness" made more sense to me.

I throttled up to military power first and then made the move to full afterburner soon afterwards. To reach afterburner the throttle must be manipulated in a special way. Upon reaching full military power, the throttle meets an "end" of sort s. Upon meeting this "end" the pilot must lift the throttle slightly and "kiss" it to the left where the throttle hitches onto a new thoroughfare, and can be pushed up through afterburner. When pulling the throttle out of afterburner it would make a loud "pop" as it moved back into "dry" thrust.

As I pulled back on the stick I got another thrill. The stick itself is truly amazing. Having it only move 1/16th of an inch was a WEIRD feeling. As the flight wore on, I found myself fighting with the stick constantly. There were times when I was bleeding speed like a madman and I would pull on the stick as hard as I could, but to no avail. The F-16 does not like to dogfight without energy and thanks to my heavy pulling, my right arm became VERY tired. I always find that when my arm becomes tired in the F-16, I have a tendency to want to lift out of my seat (hehehe.. this can ONLY be done in a simulator) and use my body to try and compensate for my weakness/tiredness. Through all my flights in the F-16, I have only one drawback (if there is one) that remains constant, my right arm is always sore and tired when I get out and drive home.

In terms of sound, there was a helmet with a voice actuator that I could don, but it had no sound effects to listen to unless you consider you own voice echoing in your ears "effects". However, I was barred from wearing it (after I took off) because unde r the "Sidewinder" missile mode the wearer of the helmet could hear the different and distinguished "tones" of the AIM-9 's IR seeker which are still considered classified. Thus the all flights have been without sound.

After taking off, I reached to my left (equal to my left breast in height) and flipped the gear lever up. As I climbed up I flew through a sort of blackness. Jim asked me to perform a left-hand traffic pattern and attempt to land the plane. On my first attempt I landed but not straight and rolled off the runway. I was placed back on the runway and after taking off again, successfully performed two landings. In comparison, they were about equal with EF2000. The plane tended to "flutter" more and thus was harder to line-up but after my initial failure, I knew more of what to expect.

The rotation and landing speeds were on par with EF2000 too. I rotated at about 170 knots and landed near 150 knots. The brakes were located on the toe of the rudder petals with the air brake located as a thumb switch on the throttle. Another thing I found to be interesting was that it seemed like I was always using the afterburner to keep my speed up. I kept asking Jim if my speed brakes were open but repeatedly, they were not. Now I can understand why many F-16A pilots referred to it as a bit of a "pig".

Then he loaded up some enemy MiGs and after directing me where to point the nose of the aircraft toward a lonely MiG. I vigilantly watched the little tick mark move right and left at the bottom of the radar screen as the radar antennae scanned the skies for my lonely MiG. Soon I had a square blip on the screen and using the small dish-like thumb switch on the throttle, maneuvered the " " on the radar screen over the enemy plane and simultaneously pushed a thumb switch on the stick to lock him up. I was using Range While Scan mode (RWS) and his vital information was available for me to peruse.

On this flight I was not allowed to fire any missiles (these planes were still equipped with AIM-7 Sparrows and the US standard IR missile, AIM-9 Sidewinders) but I was allowed to use guns on the enemy planes. I was very curious to see what the enemy planes would look like and was again, disappointed to see only a red triangle representing the enemy MiG. He was flying straight and level and made no attempts to engage me in combat as I pulled around on his six after our initial merge.

I had been in the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) mode while tracking him but flicked a thumb switch on the throttle and moved it from the top position to Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) mode which was the lowest selection to gun him. Just as in most flight sims, ACM mode must be selected before the guns will fire (the other (middle) mode was for AIM-9 Sidewinder shots). The rounds went very quickly and were fired using the trigger, which is different for missiles, which are fired by the top, left-most thumb switch on the stick. I was limited to about 5 seconds worth of ammo due to the quick firing rate. The opposing red "triangle" vanished when he was hit which brought little satisfaction.

After my initial one hour "flight", I would return to this simulator on another four occasions where I would acquire 8 more hours of flight time and learn to become quite comfortable with all the functions and controls of this simulator. Many times other pilots would come in and critique my landings and engagements and offer all sorts of tips and advice on combat situations. I was always asking, where was this and what is that and often times got the dreaded "can't tell you that" answer.

Soon I had collected and remembered quite a bit (probably too much) about all the switches in the F-16 and had simulated starting the engine (even "hot started" it once where after putting the throttle all the way back and "tucking" it in a special corner similar to the way it enters afterburner but back behind idle power, you "pop" it out of it's starting position and (should) immediately pull it back to idle. However, when it "hot starts" the RPMs climb above 17,000 before the engine has completed it's warm-up and the pilot must shut it down and start the procedure all over again).

This simulator was only the first of three I would get to fly. The next one was many times more advanced with a true color display; actual displayed aircraft, and full effects. This new simulator made sims like EF2000 look like child's play. I'll explain my experience with this sim and how it compares to modern flight sims in part 3.

Part III

It had been nearly six months between my visits to the F16 simulator. Since then, my local ANG group had gone through a conversion. They were now flying F16C block 25 upgraded to block 32, software L2 standards. Although their F16's were still officially designated as ADV's, their new Vipers were equally proficient at Air-to-Ground as Air- to-Air. Their old F16A's were being prepared to be sold to former Soviet allies in Eastern Europe or any other buyers interested.

The new conversion brought about new training for the pilots and new simulator equipment. Although the simulator equipment was used, it was clearly more advanced than what they had been previously using and was very impressive. The former General Dynamic's representative had since retired and everything relating to the F16 had been sold to Lockheed, which soon became known as Lockheed Martin. The new simulator was owned and maintained by the base. It had reportedly been bought by the base from another USAF base for a reportedly low price of $1,000,000.

2nd Generation Simulators

Soon after the purchase of the new simulator, I got a call from my friend Ramsey and he mentioned that I would be allowed to fly the simulator on certain dates and times. Soon, we had made an agreement for a specific date and time. Upon returning to the base I was surprised to find that the previous 60" screen was now reduced to an approx. 17" monitor, although the cockpit itself remained the same size. Ramsey had warned me not to let the size of the screen fool me because it was FAR superior to what they had been flying before.

Ramsey also went on to explain that as long as any one who did not have TOP SECRET clearance was in the simulator room, someone who has clearance must accompany them. Thus, Ramsey would stay with me while I was using the simulator. A pilot briefed me on what I was and was NOT able to do in the simulator. I was again told NO missile shots (the planes were now AMRAAM capable) and no donning the helmet to hear the growl of the Sidewinder.

As the computers were spinning up to speed, I was able to slip into the cockpit. The chair was again on rails, so I was "railed" up to the cockpit. The knobs and switches for moving the seat were the same so I quickly became comfortable. However, with the advent of the new "C" model, I noticed quite a few changes in the cockpit. There were now only two displays, and these were MFD. I was told not to "mess" with the MFD's so I left them alone. One displayed my radar data while the other showed me my weapons loadouts. Another change (no changes were made to the throttle and stick) was to the chaff/flares button which was now located on the side of the cockpit just to the left of the throttle allowing the pilot to "slap" the button with the back of his left hand as needed.

Interestingly enough, the back of the pilot's hand could not reach the chaff/flares button if he had maneuvered the throttle into afterburner. In addition, the pilot can select how to drop his countermeasures. A toggle switch on the right side of the cockpit allows for single chaff or flares drops, drop in pairs, or they can be "programmed" to drop at certain intervals. Also, a new up-front controller was now added. It had access to all the air-to-air and air-to-ground buttons as well as other functions.

Graphically, this simulator was not what I had pictured due to it's small monitor but with the additions of the color and detail I was still thrilled and very curious to see exactly how things would look. The runway was the first bit of detail I noticed and it looked quite real, albeit too colorful, similar to many flight sims. The next thing I noticed was the speed at which the simulator ran. It was COMPLETELY FLUID. The sense of speed I could not compare to ANY flight sim. For example, in EF2000 one of my biggest gripes is that head-on gunshots are a farce. This does not actually happen when two air superiority fighters are closing in at each other near or over 1000 knots. This was confirmed to me soon thereafter as a MiG-23 and I made a head-on pass at high speed. By the time I could actually see something more than a dot in the sky, we had already merged.

In EF2000 and other flight sims, the planes seem to "float" toward each other especially if the speed is closer to 900 knots. This is especially apparent during network King of the Skies or Base Defense missions versus other human pilots. It's just not accurate. Any attempt to gun my opponent in his MiG-23 would have met with a head-on collision so fast that death would have been instantaneous with no chance to avoid the impact.

One thing that I did notice is that my >1000 hours of networked time in EF2000, and close personal reading of Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering (Robert L. Shaw) had properly taught me good dog-fighting techniques. This was apparent after the MiG- 23 and I performed our nose-to-nose merge and using a number of small High Yo-Yo's and lag pursuit rolls, I successfully pulled on the MiG-23's tail in lag pursuit.

At this point I had my first opportunity to evaluate the AI of this F16 simulator. The MiG, realizing my superior position, attempted a number of defensive maneuvers. The first and most numerous (the AI performed many maneuvers and some several times) was flat scissors. After I had achieved my lag pursuit, the MiG noticed me closing in behind him attempting to achieve pure pursuit for a gunshot. As soon as I would close to near 2500 feet, he would pop his brakes and drop idle thrust. His speed would drop dramatically and he would begin the familiar, right and left hard turns to "sway" me into the scissor.

Again, my experience with flight sims taught me what was happening and as soon as I noticed my closure rate was shooting up I hit my own brakes and began a series of defensive turns and pulls. After about 10 minutes of performing offensive and defensive maneuvers, an F16 pilot came into the room and began critiquing my moves. I had already selected ACM and my "snake" was wiggling all around. When the MiG was not performing defensive maneuvers he was usually in AB while executing a shallow left-hand turn. As soon as I would attempt to move closer he would begin the series of moves to shake me off his tail.

I was in perfect AIM-9 range but since I was forbidden to use them, I had to force a gunshot. Furthermore, my previous experience with the F16 simulator taught me that I had only five seconds of ammo to bring down my opponents (of course I could easily be reloaded using the computer just as my fuel had been "frozen" so I did not run out). With the high FPS rate, having to concentrate so much on keeping my speed up to match that of the MiG-23, and keeping him from "losing" me, I was having trouble getting him "perfectly " lined up. I was trying to simulate "real life" as much as possible, so I did not fire until I felt hits were infallible.

Invariably, this took more time than I had anticipated and proved very difficult. Even when I finally did get him lined up hits were hard to come by. Even with coaching, it seemed I was always just "a bit" off (no more arcade style gun "hits"). I ended up having to be reloaded 4 times and finally I achieved a kill when the MiG was attempting to pull underneath me. I successfully performed a Spit-S and gunned him when he pulled through my "snake". There were no explosions or parts flying off (which was a bit disappointing) only the lone MiG disappearing when the "kill" had been recorded. The fluidity of the simulator is indescribable.

I would later dogfight a MiG-21 and finally a Su-27 Flanker. Although in the latter case the Flanker was put just in front of my nose and thus after a few maneuvers, was an easy kill. I keep searching for something to compare it to but nothing I know of can convey how smooth and fast the frames were moving. Detail levels might have been slightly superior to EF2000 but the sense of speed made the experience FAR senior in addition to the haze and sun reflections that were also present. The Graphics Plus upgrade made up for some of this shortcoming but I would guess that EF2000 G+ on a P200 MMX with a 3DFX card was still not as fluid. In terms of speed, I would say closure rates mimicked in EF2000 at a 900 knots are only about 1/12 of the actual speed. Perhaps now the significance of speed I am trying to indicate is understood.

Of all the planes I was dogfighting, the detail of the MiG-23 was most astonishing. Not only did it look exactly as pictures but also there were many times where I could see the wings sweep back and forth to emulate the speed of the aircraft. At first, I was so amazed that I forgot to continue to fly the plane. It was reminiscent of all those times when I was with my network partners while we were reviewing a new game and upon noticing something new or detailed would all stop flying and talk about what we had just seen. Once I got close enough it's Soviet "star" was even apparent and in full color. The ground was very detailed and included many buildings and multiple runways (I do not know where the simulator "simulated" my F16 experience. My best guess would be to say it might have been West Germany) and tons of trees on rolling hills. Most of my time was spent between 15,000 and 30,000 feet. Only when I was coming into practice landings was the ground really apparent.

I was only able to spend a couple of hours on this simulator and this was my only visit. I had heard "rumors" of its replacement that was supposedly currently being assembled and would be new, unlike the first two simulators at the base.

In my final series of articles I will describe the latest in "non-movable" F16 military simulators. Although the simulator above was an evolution in simulations and would easily satisfy any flight simmer's dream; the new simulator with it's advances in detail, and "experience" made the newest simulators even an F16 pilot's dream.

Part IV

Background:

The F16 is a single-seat lightweight fighter and attack aircraft. It was originally designed to compete in the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) prototype program. Of the original five contracts awarded; only those submitted by General Dynamics and Northrop were chosen to build prototypes. The General Dynamics company built the YF-16 and the Northrop design was the YF-17, respectively. For more information on prototypes and development see Part One of this series.

In part 1 of this series, I explained what my first experiences were with an F16A simulator. Since that time I have flown two other F16 simulators at the same ANG base. Each one was generations more advanced than the one before it. The second simulator was about on par with EF2000 in terms of graphical orientation and presentation but in terms of "speed" the actual simulator was FAR superior. However, my most recent experience was jaw dropping.

When I was again offered the chance to fly the new simulator, the room, which has housed each of the simulators, had gone through some drastic security changes. The room was now monitored by a state-of-the-art video camera and the door was now made of padded steel and protected by a coded entry box. It was a beautiful Sunday and I had just witnessed a great airshow during the day and was going to get a few hours on the new simulator. As it turned out, I was offered a chance to witness some pilots flying it a few hours before I was to have my scheduled time on the simulator.

The ANG base now owned this simulator and the pilots all helped maintain it. Each individual who does not have a TOP SECRET clearance had to be "escorted" into the room and as long as they remained there, must never be left there without your respective "observer". My observer was one of the pilots I had befriended while spending time on the earlier simulators. After witnessing a few pilots "hot-dogging" on it, they all showed me where the differences were in the new simulator as opposed to the old ones.

My first impressions on seeing it were that I was literally speechless. The simulator itself was exactly like the one I described in part 3, but the computer running it was "with the times" in that it reflected the new technology offered. It was smaller than the old style six feet high 70's style supercomputers and had "Silicon Graphics" pasted all over it. It's monitor sat on a desk showing an F22 ADF AWACS style view of all terrain and threats in the area that also allowed each pilot to customize the simulation in a very user-friendly, mouse driven, interface. The sims graphics were literally photo-realistic. Smoothness of the sim is beyond description. The cockpit is moved within inches of the screen thus creating an IMAX type view, which increases the total immersion feel dramatically. Although watching the simulator was fantastic, it only made my wait for the time when I would get my opportunity to get on, that much longer.

After looking at my watch for what seemed like years, my call to action finally came at around 1600. I met the pilot that I knew in front of the door to the sim. Steve had already started the simulator and had the plane positioned on the runway awaiting a pilot. As I approached the sim on the left, it had a small step-up ladder to enable me to climb into the cockpit. Steve commented that I was not to step on the seat as it was made of materials that would bend and thus deform its shape. So I carefully stepped into the cockpit and quickly made myself comfortable with the controls, moving my seat all the way down and moving it forward some. At this point Steve told me that he was on Alert duty and if the siren were to sound he would have to bolt from the room and that I was to immediately exit the room and close the door. I nodded and voiced my acceptance of his directions.

He then instructed me to go ahead and take-off. I moved the throttle to full military power and the jet roared down the runway. This was my first actual "appointment" with a pilot and Steve would be critiquing my performance full-time and is able to take notice of my previous experience. Although I told him I had "hours" on the previous simulators he was going to consider me a beginner on the sim for part of my time. After take-off I climbed to near 6000 feet. At that point Steve began to give me the low-down on all the switches and controls in the cockpit. We went over most of the controls on the throttle and stick. The chaff/flares button is clearly shown in the picture to the left of the throttle, easily "slapable" by the back of the pilots left hand.

Steve then loaded in my first "bandit" which was a Tu-195 "Bear" bomber. He directed me to its location and after performing a quick fly-by looped over and killed it with guns. Right away Steve commented that I looked "very comfortable" with the controls and thus began a conversation about my sim experience. Realizing that I was a more advanced user, and after hearing about how EF2000 simulates refueling, he asked me to try and perform a simulated refueling from a KC-10. As I approached the tanker (the sim does not, unfortunately, actually model refueling but the pilots do practice "approaches") Steve was firing off calls to help me position the aircraft better. Soon I was where he considered the primary placement of my F16 and called me off from the refueling. Seconds later he instructed me to put a Sidewinder up it's tail. I obliged and after two AIM-9's the KC-10 was gone. Graphically, the AIM-9 "wiggled" on its way to the plane and after the first one impacted a LOT of debris fluttered with a few puffs of smoke which reminded me of my 3DFX cards emulation of smoke. That was very impressive but when the second Sidewinder impacted and the "kill" was scored, the plane simply vanished from view.:(

Next he asked me to try some low flying over the airbase and I had a chance to get a sense of speed for the sim. It was pretty good but when I mentioned it to Steve he commented that to get a "real" sense of speed they really needed more "scenery" which would constitute more Silicon Graphics servers. I chuckled and performed a high speed subsonic pass over the airbase at 100 feet in full afterburner. This experience gave me my first really good feel for the smoothness of the sim in a first-hand basis. It is beyond words. Nothing is comparable. Just like the simulator before it, I can't describe how smooth the graphics moved. Total liquidity I suppose would be as close as I could describe it.

After Steve commented on my "passes" he posted my first and only bandit. It was a MiG-29. It was setup 20 miles away and so when Steve made the call I had already positioned my nose toward the bandit and after Steve called its altitude, I moved the "wheel" and adjusted my radar altitude. Quickly the Fulcrum was on my scope and were moving at each other near 1000 knots. At about 5 miles (things were moving VERY QUICKLY and I was already suffering from cockpit saturation due to the high pace of the engagement) I saw a quick flash and I was dead. Steve laughed and commented that a AA-10 C ALAMO had just impacted my airplane. After we laughed and discussed what had just ensued, he started the simulator from where we had left off. Quickly the MiG-29 and I merged (blinked, I like to say now). I pulled hard right and turned into a shallow high Yo-Yo. Due to the fact that I had no way of seeing what the Fulcrum was doing, Steve played as my eyes and guided me. Soon after a few high Yo-Yo's I was on the Fulcrums tail. Detail was ASTONISHING!

I played with the MiG-29 for about 3 minutes just looking at the detail of the plane. I could see the surfaces moving as the MiG-29 attempted a few vertical scissor moves which almost got me killed again but each time I managed to regain my energy before the MiG-29 could slip away. After one such maneuver, the MiG-29 sped up quickly and pulled a hard 9G right-hand turn. Up until that moment the AI had been trying to trick me into a slow speed knife fight which I was trying to avoid. Even though I could have dispatched the Fulcrum with a Sidewinder at any moment, I was having fun checking him out. A second after the Fulcrum began his hard turn I was attempting to stay on his tail. The next thing I noticed was that Steve was giggling and chuckling and had moved what had been an invisible joystick from behind a small monitor, to the palm of his right hand. He was now in control of the MiG-29 Fulcrum and had entered into direct combat with me.

The Fulcrum quickly roared past my Viper and I took a quick gunshot using the "funnel" but missed to the rear of the top-side of the Fulcrum. I allowed a second of time for him to keep pulling so I could regain some energy and started a split-S to acquire Steve's Fulcrum that had pulled past me. After diving in front of my Viper in a 9G right-hand turn he quickly moved to the vertical (he had one advantage over me besides the obvious, in that he had a monitor showing all my precious HUD information) and was trying to pull around on my six. He dispatched me with an Archer and froze the simulation.

After we discussed what happened and possible moves/countermoves he started the simulation again. I quickly reversed my previous position and slapped the chaff/flares button several times to confuse the seeker on his Archer as much as possible. He allowed the computer to retake the MiG-29 and soon thereafter I had moved to the MiG-29's rear quarter. Slewing the Sidewinder's seeker up and to the right (YES the Sidewinders' seeker can be slewed!) I pulled hard on the stick and wound up getting an acquisition on the Fulcrum and got a Sidewinder shot off on his tail. He disappeared with some debris falling free, confirming my kill. After this bit of fun Steve mentioned that he was going to have to be getting some work done soon so he directed me back toward the base where I successfully performed a touch-and-go followed by a left-hand traffic pattern and finally successfully landed the Viper just past the numbers.

This incident took place about 5 weeks ago and I had this article all set to go on to Len. Then talking to my friend Ramsey last Saturday night revealed that my F16 pilot friend Steve was back on alert duty. He got on the phone and after a brief conversation, asked me if I was ready to get back on the sim for some more action. Without hesitation, I gave a brief, "HELL YES" and was invited to come back the next day (Sunday) for more F16 stick time. Only difference was that this time Steve knew I could handle the plane and promised to really get down and dirty with me; teaching me mid-air engine restarts, dead-stick landings after engine failure, ILS landings with 1/16 mile visibility in bad weather, and throwing EVERY modern Russian at me to see how well I could dogfight in 1V1, 1V2 and even a 1V3 engagements (although the 1V2 and 1V3 were versus F16's in BVR!). he also chuckled that me might very well take me on H2H again and was not going to show me "any mercy". In part 5, I will cover what happened in what EASILY became my most exotic, exciting, and fulfilling time on the simulator. I am still trying to recall all of what we went through!