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Hobby Master 1/72 scale HA3898: Lockheed F-16BM Fighting Falcon D serial 691, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Bodo, Norway, 2019. Production run of 500 models.
Length 8.25 inches Wingspan 5.25 inches
Royal Norwegian Air Force (Luftforsvaret) F-16AM 691/FN-K, c/n 6L-10 was received in early 1983 by the 331st skvadron (331 skv) "Lion" located at Bodo. In 2019 the aircraft received a special paint scheme wearing the colors the 331st Squadron Spitfires used during the Normandy invasion. The registration represents Spitfire PL258 FN-K of the 331 (Norwegian) Squadron assigned to the RAF during WWII. PL258 ended its operational life when it belly-landed in December 1944 in the Netherlands. 691/FN-K also marks the 75th Anniversary of the formation of the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
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. |
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