The original F-16 intake is called NSI (Normal Shock Inlet) or "small mouth" and is installed on every Pratt jet. "They" decided that the GEs performed better with more air, so the intake was enlarged to swallow more air, which as it turned out, didn't help the Pratts at all. The Blocks are the same otherwise……same jet, different engines. A 2 designates a Pratt powered jet, so the Block 32s are Pratts. A Block with 0 is a GE, so the Block 30s are GE powered. So, since we now have a different engine available to the series, they changed the Block designations to reflect which motor was installed in the Block 30 series. The original intent was to have the engines be interchangeable between airframes….this is how it was sold, but as we know, the road to hell is paved with what? The Block 30 was slated to merely be the same progression, except….and this is purposefully vague….in there "they" decided that General Electric produced a great fighter engine, the F-110-GE-100, and since Pratt had the F-15C/E contract locked, it was unfair that GE was frozen out of the F-16 production. The 25 was a continuation of that Block designator system. Up until that point, F-16A/B Block #s had been 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20. The C models used the F-100-PW-220 in the first production Block, the Block 25. You will occasionally see F-16 C+ in various places, which is fairly convoluted, and has to do with various upgrades to the series such as CUPID but the essential math on that is a C+ is a jet that is able to use targeting pods and GPS guided weapons.īlock designations: F-16s were built with Pratt & Whitney engines from day 1. Recently, the use of the unofficial term CM designates a Block 40/42 or 50/52 with CCIP mod which essentially levels the field between them and renders the CG/CJ designations obsolete. Also, this is designed to be a quick guide to some frequently asked viper questions, but not the be-all/end-all, and by no means come close to the excellent reference materials out there, the best of which for this sort of thing is Reid Air’s Modern Viper Guide.į-16 Cs are Block 25, 30 and 32. This thread is a work in progress, so read it all….there are some amazing levels of knowledge gathered on this site and in this thread, and its ALL for your benefit. For this guy’s $$$ you can’t beat the Tamiya vipers. The Hasegawa 1/48 block 50 kits also have that advantage, though they are missing a few details. The Revell 1/72 is generally regarded to be a fantastic kit, mostly because its can be made into various blocks out of the box. This will cover US versions of F-16s and the modeling section will relate to the Hasegawa 1/72 and Tamiya 1/48 kits, but it’s all useful regardless of what kit you are using. F-16 Viper FAQ - stuff you wanted to know about the F-16C/D
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