Polish F-16

[Nowhere]

And with new painting scheme (prettier! )




(and why the second one looks like he's reading something...I hope not the manual )

[KvHagedorn]

Cool looking paint scheme. I knew I had seen that tail emblem before, though..

http://www.ranch-o-delta.qc.ca/images/Photos/logo%20purina.JPG

[MultimediaMan]

It is probably because he is: this version of the F16 is likely the "export" version which does not have the full "glass" cockpit the US uses. This also makes this F16 a daytime fighter.

So what is he doing? He's probably referencing his flight plan or looking at an IFF response code book: these are both things that a pilot with a glass cockpit would not have to look at a piece of paper to determine.

[Nowhere]

Bleh KvH, on the above photos you see the original, practically unchanged for almost a century
And it's quite good actually...
1. Unique
2. It doesn't look like French/British/etc. (seriously...who in their right mind would paint a practice target on a combat airplane?! )

edit:
MM - so I suppose that isn't at odds with what Wikipedia says, that this Block 52 Plus plane has latest avionics?

[KvHagedorn]

(seriously...who in their right mind would paint a practice target on a combat airplane?! )

Exactly what I have always thought. The Germans in WWI had the coolest emblem imho.

[MultimediaMan]

The odd thing is that while the Fokker DR1s in popular literature and in the movies always have the Iron Cross (The Cross Pattée) displayed, even though it was replaced by the straight balkenkreutz by the end of 1915...the DR1 did not debut until late 1916.

According to reliable documentation, Von Richtofen's DR1 was adorned with the newer black balkenkreutz painted on the red fabric of the aircraft rather than the older Iron Cross on a white background.

[JTD]

Here is a picture of Von Richtofen's DR1:

[Gurm]

I read "Polish F-16", then I clicked and thought "but there's no hair under the wings!"

Sorry, live with Polacks for a while and you hear ALL the jokes. And they actually think that they're funny...

[jms]

Looks much cooler than our fleet of dull grey painted:

http://www.f-16.net/f-16_users_article12.html

[Nowhere]

Gurm, so what's this particular joke about?

[Gurm]

Gurm, so what's this particular joke about?

Q. How can you tell which planes at the airport are Polish?

A. They're the ones with hair under their wings!

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Q. Why don't they let Polacks operate elevators?

A. The route is too complex!

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They go on and on. Don't get me started on the "solar powered flashlight", "dehydrated water", and other amazing Polish inventions...

I have to listen to these jokes endlessly, it's like they're actually PROUD of the jokes. *sigH*

[TransformX]

Q: Why is there no Ice in Poland?

A: The guy who had the recipe died!

[cjolley]

My Dad the pilot told me this one:
Two Polish pilots examine a map and line up for a landing.
The runway is VERY short but they bring her in on the verge of stalling and nail the begining of the pavement.
Smoking brakes and reverse thrust stop them just before they go off into the grass at the end of the runway.
It was a rough one.

Pilot: OMFG that was close. This is the shortest %&^%* runway I have ever seen!!!
Copilot: True, but look how incredibly WIDE it is!

[jms]

My Dad the pilot told me this one:
Two Polish pilots examine a map and line up for a landing.
The runway is VERY short but they bring her in on the verge of stalling and nail the begining of the pavement.
Smoking brakes and reverse thrust stop them just before they go off into the grass at the end of the runway.
It was a rough one.

Pilot: OMFG that was close. This is the shortest %&^%* runway I have ever seen!!!
Copilot: True, but look how incredibly WIDE it is!

[ND66]

...it's like they're actually PROUD of the jokes. *sigH*

Never met a Polish person that was proud of this type of jokes.
However, they’re all proud of their heritage. And there are many countries that are grateful for having polish soldiers fighting on their side during the war. General Casimir Pulaski for example:

Pulaski introduced new battle drills in an effort to transform them into a highly mobile force. But, realizing that the Americans did not share his conception of the cavalry as a separate combat force, Pulaski asked to be relieved of his position and allowed to form a special infantry and cavalry unit capable of more independent action.....

....At the head of a troop of some 600, Pulaski arrived in Charleston in May 1779, just in time to contribute to its successful defense against a much larger British force, which after occupying Georgia was steadily advancing northward. This victory proved pivotal in the war in the South as it broke the British momentum and boosted American morale.

And speaking of Polish pilots, in my younger years I was fascinated by the World War II.
Did lots of reading on the major battles between Germany, England, USA, Japan, etc.

Battle of Britain was one of them, fighting German invasion of bomber an V-1, V-2 rockets. History has a lot to say about Polish pilots from those days:

No. 303 "Kościuszko" Polish Fighter Squadron was a Polish-manned fighter squadron flying as part of the Royal Air Force. It was named after the Polish and American hero General Tadeusz Kościuszko. ……
.........Kosciuszko Squadron is famous for claiming the highest number of enemy kills during the Battle of Britain of all fighter squadrons then in operation through September to October 1940. ....
....In subsequent actions 303 Squadron achieved the highest number of claims for aircraft destroyed from amongst the 66 Allied fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it was late in joining combat, starting 2 months after the battle had begun.
Its success in combat can be attributed to the years of extensive and rigorous pre-war training many of the long-serving Polish veterans had received in their homeland; far more than many of their younger and inexperienced RAF comrades now being thrown into the battle. In its first seven days of combat, the squadron claimed destroyed nearly forty enemy planes. The squadron became a legend of the Battle of Britain and its pilots were called "the glamour boys of England". Withdrawn from battle for a rest on the 11 October, the squadron had claimed 126 kills in 6 weeks. However, losses had also been heavy, with 18 Hurricanes lost, 7 killed and 5 pilots badly wounded.
The 303 "Kościuszko" Squadron was the most effective Polish squadron during the Second World War.
Pilots of the 303 Squadron were the only representatives of the Polish Army invited to the London Victory Parade in 1946; they decided to refuse the invitation since no other Polish units had been invited. Since the end of the war, the Squadron morale was decreasing due to the treatment of Poles by the Allies, and the Squadron was eventually disbanded in December 1946.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_303_Fighter_Squadron

Now this is what they are proud of.

.