Me want. 
https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/83383363/1980-lockheed-f16
Isn’t there some CEO who owns his own military jet trainer, I think an ex-Soviet L-39, which he flies for fun?
I assume it’s perfectly legal for a civilian to own an F-16, just as long as they don’t actually arm it?
That would be a negative, ghostrider.
The USG specifically prohibits civilian ownership of modern jets. It’s an ITAR-conrolled item, and you’ll never get clearances to buy it.
I have no idea what this ad is supposed to be selling, but it isn’t an operational F-16. Note there is only one (stock) photo, and no information at all. If it were real, there’d be a lot more info. And it would cost more than $8.5M.
A non-flying mockup/trainer? Maybe it’s just a body kit for a Pontiac Fiero?
Ah, thanks. Would it be legal to own something that was thoroughly obsolete, though? Can have, say an F-86 Saber in my fantasy hangar if I become a multi-billionaire?
Good catch, I didn’t even notice the photo came from airliners.net, a site that has a huge archive of aviation photography. That’s a pretty big clue that this ad is a hoax.
Well, if you’re in the market, the better deal is a MiG-29. John Sessions was going to set up a business importing and refurbishing those. He gotone done and sold it to Paul Allen. Looks like after Paul’s death, that plane is available again.
Related article: You Can Buy Paul Allen’s MiG-29 Fulcrum Jet Fighter
If you are set on domestic product, my understanding is that Paul’s F-5B is also coming up for sale, but I can’t find the listing yet.
edit: Looks like the F-5 already sold. Bummer.
Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, owns and operates a SIAI-Marchetti S.211 in the US. He also owns a MiG-29 but does not have permission to import it.
He should buy Paul’s then. Wanna let him know? Maybe you can get a finder’s fee.
We aren’t on speaking terms since I left Oracle.
How many Pepsi points is that?
I’m not sure where the cutoff is, but I think F86s are OK to own.
I know the Air Force wasn’t happy when Darryl Greenamyer acquired his F-104, though, and they were probably relieved when it crashed.
I was surprised to see a page that says you can buy a Phantom! Now I could go for that!
There is a war-bird restoration place in Nevada, and there is an F-86 parked outside from time to time. Somebody owns it, and it ain’t just a static display.
Michael Dorn used to have an F-86. He was hanging out by it, watching the airshow at Edwards AFB. I chatted with him briefly.
It doesn’t seem to be a hoax–at least not quite. JetLease is the seller and they seem to be a legitimate company. The F-16 is listed on their site.
It’s still pretty weird, though, with almost no information. If you fill out their form, they give a link to their brochure. The brochure still has no real specifics, and the pictures are just stock photos.
On their Faceboox page, they have this post:
Well. It implies that you can buy an F-16 if you’re a military contractor. Perhaps that extends to any ITAR-certified organization (if so, maybe Elon Musk can buy one through SpaceX). If not, they can sell you a shell. Given the price, it seems likely that they are indeed just selling the shell, though it’s still weird that they don’t provide that detail anywhere.
There’s a privately owned f-4 Phantom, F104 Starfighter, AV8 Harrier, …
Plenty of early cold war jets are flying.
And here I figured somebody was finally cleaning out the garage!
~VOW
A guy in Tulsa had and flew a T-38 Talon in the late 1980’s