Quote:
Originally Posted by flybigjet
Fun trivia: Why is the F-16 called the Viper?
When the F-16 was first going operational, the original Battlestar Galactica was on TV with the "fighters in space" idea. The pilots started wearing "viper" patches. Senior leadership went nuts, so of course the name stuck. I remember as a kid thinking that the TV Vipers and the F-16 "sort of" looked vaguely similar (if you looked sideways and squinted), so it made sense to me. I don't think I've ever met a Viper Driver who's called it the Fighting Falcon.
Hardly any airplanes that I can think of are called by their "official" name. Nobody goes around going "That's the C-17 Globemaster III". Nope-- it's either "Buddha" (everyone sits around and worships it) or "Barney" (Fred's short, fat friend. This one makes more sense if you understand that the C-5 is called "Fred").
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Barney in the early days had three pallets and would take two mid-air's to fly the 3LM mission it was employed to do in the mid 90's. It's not a Strat Air Jet. It really is a improved C-130J model
I hated having to ACM to a location on them they are not people friendly. Sleeping amonst the cargp is not a good idea but is routinely employed.