The Basics

Learning the basics of flying an F-16 is fun...we are expected to screw up almost everything and we progress as long as we don't cause too much damage.

Here are some photos of our air-to-ground phase:

Someone could lose an eye.

This 25-lb BDU-33 practice bomb is what we drop to simulate bigger stuff. Normally we carry 9 BDUs on each jet. Each bomb has a smoke charge in the nose to mark where it hits (we always hit dead center, by the way).

BDU-33s

You mean those dorks get to fly that sweet jet?

This photo was taken just before my first time dropping a 500-lb bomb...sort of. I had to watch my buddy drop his bombs while I orbited overhead because I screwed something up. I landed with this damn bomb still on my jet, but dropped a couple a few days later.

By the way, the 500-lb bomb is to my left and the fuel tank is to my right.