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Show Jan. 27, 1994 Hilltop Times v : r i 388th FW over the base flight line. F-1- Reserve milestone Hill's 419th Fighter Wing was the first Air Force Reserve wing to fly the 6 Fighting F-1- Falcon. DFrom preceding page ! ". amazed at the difference in capability. "We went from having 16 airplanes go out to hit a single target with the FlOO, to a single bomb for a single target with the A-- In just two years, we had a totally different capability and, it was brought about by ; computers," he said. to Hamilton he hates admit said he it, Although said the A-- 7 was actually better at dropping bombs than the 6 in the early '70s. The A-- 7 was designed to drop bombs, he said, and it was equipped with a "moving map" display a film of the terrain over which the pilot was flying. The 6 still doesn't have a moving map, he added. The 6 was originally designed as a lightweight fighter,' but was adapted so it could also be used as a bomber. "Since this little airplane had so many jobs to do, there was only a certain amount of equipment that could be put on it," he explained. Hamilton transitioned to the 6 in 1983 and said the aircraft has continued to evolve and become more effective, primarily through computerization Today, computers can make many of the calculations pilots used to make in their heads, Hamilton said. "From a pilot's standpoint, my primary job is to make decisions. So what I want the airplane to do is process all the information and present it to me in such a way that I can make the best possible " V . decision," he said. One example of how capabilities are continuously expanded through computer software is the digital terrain system, Hamilton said. The system, uses digitized designed to upgrade existing in his obstacles to a to alert pilot maps to the has The eliminate, capability system path. many ground collisions, especially" during conditions of poor visibility, he said.: F-1- . 7. ', F-1- ; F-1- . F-16- F-1- low-flyin- s, g "v n n - v l t it- 11 n n i I H n t M ! U j II- - U F-1- 6, F-1- F-1- 6. F-1- 00 F-1- F-1- st . mti i;ituw wwiwv mvmK wjynm; - 'wn wmpy 'i ! - jj - I J. Another computerized development for the Hamilton said, involves use of a data transfer cartridge, where the computer would collect maintenance data in flight, and possibly intelligence data at some future time, to be used in the debriefing process. Hamilton said he thinks the 6 Fighting Falcon will be around for a long time. In spite of cutbacks, the Air Force is still trying to make airplanes more effective, Hamilton said, and many technological advances will be made that will upgrade existing aircraft such as the through computerization. Hamilton remembers seeing the being flown in Denmark in 1983, 13 years after he flew it in Vietnam, and he thinks the 6 will have even greater longevity. "I think we'll see themid-21-6 flying somewhere in the world well into the century," . he said.. 1 i b i - . ?":' nrr . Jt j :-- f :;Tr i i j; '. . ; t X - mm r- i after the fighter entered (Left) It didn't take long for the Air Force Thunderbirds to switch to the 6 6 from the Aircraft Directorate's Flight Test Branch Is prepped the Air Force inventory. Above, an F-1- ' F-1- for a.mission. ' ; . - |