Lockheed F-16AM Fighting Falcon – FA-123 Blizzard, Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team, Kleine Brogel AB, Belgium, 2015.

Hobby Master 1/72 scale HA3892: Lockheed F-16AM Fighting Falcon FA-123 Blizzard of the Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team, Kleine Brogel AB, Belgium, 2015. Production run of 800 models.

Length 8.25 inches Wingspan 5.25 inches

The Belgian F-16 Solo Display Team for 2015-2017 was piloted by Cdt. Tom “Gizmo” De Moortel from the 31st Squadron “Tigers” based at Kleine-Brogel AB. F-16 FA-123 was given an MLU M6.1 update making it the most modern F-16 in the BAF. As the display aircraft, FA-123 received a new special paint scheme consisting of silver/white markings on a black background on the top of the wings and black markings on a grey/silver background on the bottom. The paint scheme was named “Blizzard” and the callsign Blizzard was assigned.

Designed by General Dynamics as a lightweight, daytime USAF air-combat fighter, the F-16 was first flown on January 20th, 1974. This single-engine, supersonic aircraft has, over the years, evolved into a multirole aircraft. It has a frameless bubble canopy-giving its pilot superior visibility-and it uses advanced aerodynamics. The F-16 was one of the first designs to use a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire system, which helps it pull 9-g maneuvers and achieve speeds of more than Mach 2. Called “Viper” by its pilots, the F-16 is considered one of the most successful aircraft designs of the Cold War, with 4,400+ aircraft built since 1976.