Comments

The "fogging" they're likely referring to isn't the 'window fogging' most may be familiar with; the F-16 ECS is capable of producing actual FOG inside the cockpit, rather than mere fogging on the canopy that can be wiped off. (To that effect - when strapped in, it is impossible to reach forward of the HUD and wipe the canopy to begin with. The average person, or myself at 6', can't reach more than a couple of inches past the HUD with the lap belt on. The best he could have hoped for was to wipe an area above and to the sides of the HUD, which at the landing AOA of 13 degrees doesn't do squat for forward visibility. Loosening the lap belt to wipe it is NOT an option, as a subsequent ejection, either intentional or accidental, would likely be fatal.) On an A/C model you get ECS air at two locations: Behind the seat/aft of the consoles, and through "canopy defogging" louvered openings forward of the HUD. Even on the ground, we regularly observed fog blowing from the ECS ducts and dissipating within a couple inches of the duct once the cold air mixed sufficiently with ambient cockpit air. If the ECS system was blowing actual fog, the openings forward of the HUD would put all the fog directly in the pilots field of view, but it would most likely dissipate without filling the whole cockpit for the reasons mentioned above. This exact scenario can render forward visibility to near zero, but leave up/side visibility unimpeded. So what's the fix, assuming a normally functioning ECS? Turn the heat up. It's the cold air on a hot/humid day that creates the blowing fog. This isn't something that a smart pilot would do on landing roll, and it takes several moments for the temperature to change anyhow. For a malfunctioning ECS, he might not have had that option. Perhaps he was a few knots fast and subsequently landed long because he WAS trying to turn the heat up - an F-16 will float considerably if your approach speed isn't correct. Maybe that's why he didn't extend the speedbrakes, too. As for braking - max anti-skid braking, with aft stick, will keep the nose up until you've slowed down quite a bit. That's the normal short-field landing procedure, by the way. As for the O-1/CYA perception, anyone in the Air Force will tell you that AF management won't hesitate to hang someone out to dry if they screwed up. Have any of you read the accident report from the Alaska F-22 crash, where they blamed the pilot of being "too distracted due to his inability to breath" as the cause of his fatal accident? Unless someone can come on here and refute my six years of F-16 maintenance experience and subsequent 6 years as an aircrew member, or Geff MCarthy's six years as a flight doc at an F-16 base, and provide a more experience-based explanation: Perhaps the armchair Cessna F-172 and Piper FA-28 crowd ought to quit throwing darts at a pilot who, given the circumstances, did a pretty decent job.

Impressive, but I can't help but wonder...this makes me think the A5 has ZERO rudder authority when near a stall. How else is there almost no yaw movement when they put in full rudder?