Also, the Thunderchickens (as we affectionately called em while on active duty in the Air Force) used F-4s (Ds I believe) prior to that. F-4s were two seaters.

Larry- The F-16s are fully combat ready minus the M-61A1. The smoke unit is housed in the gun cavity, so that must be replaced.

There is/are one or two two seat D versions used as well, and they are also completely capable of being used in an airshow performance in a contingency.

From what I remember, (because of my job, this is actually something we were taught in Tech School), there is a contingency plan to replace the smoke system with the gun and fully repaint the aircraft and have them ready for sorites in under 96 hours. But that info is 10 years old now...

I thought it was the 16s that crashed circa 83 from the control stick incident. I remember reading that the FBW system got some condensation in one of the contact points in the leader's control stick system, shorting out the "up" input. But maybe I'm confusing two incidents...

Regards,

MrPex