Exclusive Video: Loss of Control in an F-16 Fighter, Test Pilot on Yaw Departure

Editorial Staff

Monday, August 17, 2009 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

F-16 fighters are continuously tested at Edwards Air Force Base to evaluate new software upgrades and weapons packages.
These tests are essential for experimental test pilots to identify the aircraft's performance limits before upgraded Vipers are used in combat.
Air Force pilot Desmond Brophy provides a step-by-step walkthrough of one such F-16 test.

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At Edwards Air Force Base, they still test F-16 fighters, because each software upgrade and each new weapons package introduces new parameters. Experimental test pilots need to identify the aircraft’s performance limits, and they need to know how it will perform before their brothers- and sisters-in-arms take upgraded Vipers into combat. This is one of those tests, and Air Force pilot Desmond Brophy walks us through it step-by-step.

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