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Show 6 Hilltop Times Jan. 27, 1994 has rich history at Hill AFB, first base to receive speedy fighter F-- 16 ties, Scud missile sites and a varie- by Frances Kosakowsky Editor, Hilltop Times - ty pf other targets. Currently, most active units have converted to the models, while existing aircraft are replacing older aircraft in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. However Hill's Reserve ' component, the 419th Fighter Wing, is also in the process of converting from the AB models to the CD models. The 6 A is a single-semodel, tanwhile the has a two-sedem cockpit. The CD models are the single- - and two-secounterparts of the AB models, respectively. The Fighting Falcon has proven combat and itself in - Fighting Falcon has C"phe II been part of the Air Force in-ventory for 15 years long enough to be considered old hat but, the fact is, the 6 will continue to be a vital part of U.S. and NATO warfighting arsenals into the 21st century. The first operational 6 A was delivered to Hill AFB in January 15 years ago and today, 1979 Hill has some of the most advanced in the Air Force inventory. In the intervening 15 years, more have been than 3,900 produced, and more are scheduled to be built in the U.S. and Europe. is the . In fact, the ubiquitous multi-rol- e fighter of nine air forces F-1- 6 U F-1- - F-1- F-1- 6s F-1- 6s F-1- 6 worldwide. All ber delivered since Novem- F-1- 6s 1981 have structural built-i- n and wiring provisions and systems architecture that permits adaptation of the aircraft to perform precision strike, night attack and e interception missions. n 6 The fighter aircraft were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert .Storm, where more sorties were flown than with any other aircraft. They were used to attack airfields, military production facili , beyond-visual-rang- multi-missio- It-- : ; A F-1- F-1- . F-16- F-16- F-1- at F-16- s at B at air-to-a- ce ir attack. It provides a rela- . . .- tively low-cos- t, weapon system. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an can fly more than 500 role, the 6 miles, deliver its weapons, defend it" self against enemy aircraft and return to its starting point. are being produced in Europe under an unusual agreement, a high-performan- F-1- F-1- 6s consortium between the United States and four NATO countries: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. More than 348 aircraft have been jointly produced by the consortium for the air forces of these countries. ' . A General Dynamics -- the single-engin- e F-1- 6 Photo courtesy of Generol Dynamics : demonstrates the versatility and power of. fighter. Past Top Gun gives insi ght to the Falcon 6 Fighting Falcon by Sharon Guerrero Hilltop Times staff . . F-1- 6 was delivered January 1979 to , AFB, Utah. - After 10 years as an fighter pilot, CoL Danny Hamilton says dropping bombs from some older-- , model aircraft waslike the parlor game of dropping clothes pins into a milk bottle but at a dead run. The method was somewhat lacking in accuracy, he said, especially in comparison with the These and other experiences were related by Hamilton to an audience of more than60 people at the Hill Aerospace Museum Jan. 15, where he was a guest speaker. Hamilton, of the 419th Fighter Wing, flew the The first operational 15 years ago in . Hill F-1- 6. in the Gunsmoke competition in 1985, when his team won the award for overall top team, and again in 1987, when Hamilton himself won theoveted Air Force Top Gun award. He is currently chief of the 6 Requirements Office, which manages the development of computer modification programs for F-1- 6 F-1- the F-1- 6. Hamilton said the 6 is one of the most integrated aircraft around, with more than 10 different computer systems on board,a far cry from the primitive technology in use when he first started flying. He compared the evolution of military aircraft to the changes that have taken place in any modern office. He said the extensive use of computers has changed the way the world does business and the world of F-1- j aircraft. When Hamilton began flying the in Vietnam, he said pilots were still using an "iron sight" to drop bombs little more than a point the pilot lined up with the target.stationary Without computers, pilots depended on a method Hamilton called TLAR "That Looks About which, he Right" said, basically amounted to a guess on the pilot's part as to when to drop the bomb. Hamilton flew the two years later, and was F-1- 00 - A-- 7 A 388th Fighter Wing F-1- 6, the first Air Force wing to fly the fighter, departs Hill's runway. Continued on nxt pag : |