# A general officer flying an F16 on a combat mission? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485 "2013-05-04T11:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/21 "2013-05-05T05:03:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > … And as you point out, the wings aren’t loaded the same. Is the weapons package always symmetrical?\* Or do they sometimes simply do weight matching, to have some one-offs? Or, even, are the wings always equally loaded? It never occurred to me, but the plane must handle differently after each weapon is launched because the wing loading is changed. Must/does the pilot take note of that and adjust? \*Is “weapons package” a word, or am I making up nonexistent inside-knowledge milspeak? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/22 "2013-05-05T05:07:16Z")
**Alessan** , you don’t remember which AF guy it was showing he still had the skillz and wanted to show his comraderie? I think he was seriously reprimanded. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/23 "2013-05-05T07:26:45Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > **Alessan** , you don’t remember which AF guy it was showing he still had the skillz and wanted to show his comraderie? I think he was seriously reprimanded. According to his Hebrew Wikipedia page,[Maj. Gen. Herzl Bodinger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herzl_Bodinger) took an F-16 out on a bombing run in Lebanon in 1996. I couldn’t find anything about a reprimand. ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/24 "2013-05-05T07:47:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > It never occurred to me, but the plane must handle differently after each weapon is launched because the wing loading is changed. Must/does the pilot take note of that and adjust? This is something I’ve wondered about as well… ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/25 "2013-05-05T08:26:19Z")
Correct me if I am wrong, but in most Air Forces pilots have to fly a minimum number of hours per year to keep their authorisation to fly. This is true even if they are on a post which is non flying. [QUOTE=Oakminster] The name on the cockpit has nothing to do with the aircrew flying the airplane on a particular mission. [/QUOTE] Which is why Sweeny flew Bockscar. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/26 "2013-05-05T09:21:54Z")
Could the asymmetrical wing load be due to the fact that he had already used some of the weapons that were mounted on his right wing? (And, if so, evidence that the plane really was on a combat mission?) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/27 "2013-05-05T10:12:26Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Could the asymmetrical wing load be due to the fact that he had already used some of the weapons that were mounted on his right wing? (And, if so, evidence that the plane really was on a combat mission?) There are weapons on the outer right pylon, but a different type (looks a bit like a Maverick, but I’m not up to speed with modern military weapons at all), so more likely it’s an asymmetric load because that’s what the mission (whether it be combat, training, or photographic) called for. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/28 "2013-05-05T13:46:33Z")
I would think if they had to fly any distance with an unbalanced weapon load the Pilot could move fuel from tank to tank to balance the plane. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485/29 "2013-05-05T22:17:13Z")
It would be easier to just use the aileron trim if fitted. The F16 is fly by wire though which means you use the controls to tell the flight computer what you want the aeroplane to do and the computer makes it happen. This means any trim issues can be handled by the flight computer without the pilot being aware of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-officer-flying-an-f16-on-a-combat-mission/657485.md?page=1)