Sep 242012
From a February 1980 report, layout drawings of the SCAMP as then envisioned. Most obvious difference from the F-16XL is the vertical tail… instead of the F-16 tail, it utilized the base of the F-16 tail with an all-movable vertical stabilizer… which was previously a horizontal stabilizer.
Thank you, Scott for this one.
Was the F-16XL built from scratch or was it modified from an existing airframe?
If the Air Force was smart they’d be converting our present F-16s into these. If I could chooses were my tax dollars went, it would be for programs like these to really give us an edge technologically — but, alas, we don’t get a choice of where our tax dollars go. The one side effect of defense spending is it creates jobs and spurs technological advancement.
The F-16 is a remarkable aircraft. After all, the Chinese and Israelis tried copying it.