frankycee Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 So...just outta curiosity When did F-16 Falcons become F-16 Vipers? Was Falcon an un-cool name? Yeah, I know , I could be outside doing the zillion things that need to be done around the house instead of wondering about this particular subject...but what can I say...its been haunting me for the past 4 minutes... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darkclaw Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 So...just outta curiosityWhen did F-16 Falcons become F-16 Vipers? Was Falcon an un-cool name? Yeah, I know , I could be outside doing the zillion things that need to be done around the house instead of wondering about this particular subject...but what can I say...its been haunting me for the past 4 minutes... I am in the same boat as you man... I would wonder why people were calling the Falcon's Vipers. But I didn't wanna ask, so hopefully we can both find out why they do so. I always thought the Falcon was a cool name for the F-16...it looks wicked Like a bird of prey :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Double Ugly Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Ι'm not sure but I think "Viper" is an unofficial nickname for the F-16 given from its pilots. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Moore Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Just like DU posted, Viper is the unofficial nickname given to the F-16 by its aircrews and maintainers, just like the A-10 is better know as the Warthog or 'Hawg' (vs its official name, Thunderbolt II). The F-16 is still refered to as the 'Falcon' in official USAF briefings and releases. Cheers, Alby Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RedHeadKevin Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 (edited) IIRC, they started calling F-16's "Vipers" after the fighters on Battlestar Galactica. (the old one) Edited November 18, 2006 by RedHeadKevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wardog1 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 also remember: Mudhen:Strike Eagle Rhino: PhantomII Tonka:Tornado etc etc Charles Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 (edited) IIRC, they started calling F-16's "Vipers" after the fighters on Battlestar Galactica. (the old one) F-16s have been called Vipers even before the "official" Fighting Falcon naming ceremony in 1979. I don't know when Battlestar Galactica debuted, but I bet it was after 1979... Edited November 18, 2006 by habu2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f14peter Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 (edited) As I recall, the full official name of the F-16 is FIGHTING FALCON, brought about because FALCON was already being used by a bizjet. Fighting Falcon, while appropriate, hardly rolls off the tongue smoothly. Maybe there should be a law restricing aircraft names to two syllabels, three at the most and only with an approved application. Not sure about the Battlestar Galactica connection, maybe VIPER came about with a connection to its competitor, the YF-17 COBRA. Maybe it came from the appearance of the aircraft. And as already mentioned, nicknames are often used more than official names. Maybe in the future the powers that be should hold off naming aircraft until it's been operational for a while and let the users come up with a name. Edited November 18, 2006 by f14peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Lim Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Ah the mysteries of names. If the F-16 couldn't be called just 'Falcon' because of a French biz-jet (which was actually very fast and had a lot of engines), why was the YF-17 called the Cobra, didn't anyone at Northrop hear of a Bell product by that name? And going further, why was the AH-1 called the Cobra? American rotary wings, especially armed ones, all seem to named after native tribes. Look forward a bit, to when all the best known tribes and birds that kill things have already been used and 'Falcon VII' is simply not an option. Are we going to have things like an F-65 White-bellied Sea Eagle or an A-20 Lappet-faced Vulture? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hatchet Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 why was the YF-17 called the CobraI've read somewhere, that it was because of the hooded appearance of the plane (on takeoff?). Any way, it was never an officially assigned name, rather a nickname (like Viper ;) ) assigned by the team behind it. Had it won, it would probably have become the F-17 Fighting Falcon :( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Battlestar Galactica first aired in the Fall of '78. Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Battlestar Galactica first aired in the Fall of '78. So that could be the origin then. I'd heard before that was one of the possible places the name came from. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j-fever Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 F-18 = "bug" or "super bug" I call 'em POS, but to each its own... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 The YF-17 was in fact called a Cobra by Northrop. It was given that name specifically because of its LEX's gave the forward fuselage a hooded appearance. Whether that name would have been retained by the Air Force is an entirely different matter. I would say maybe. The Fighting Falcon makes sense as a companion fighter in the stable nex to the Eagle. I think the the F-18 was named the Hornet because it redesigned naval landing gear looks distinctly like the legs of wasp hanging down in flight...and Hornet sounds cooler than Wasp. Now, I think the F-22 was named the Raptor because 'raptors' were popularized in Jurassic Park. A raptor stealthily sneaks up on its prey and strikes with lethal agility. However, I have seen Air Force publicity logos of the F-22 featuring a bird silouette, and a bird would be keeping with recent tradition of naming fighters after birds of prey. But, whatever the case, I bet they would not have even thought of the term if it were not for JP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Main Entry: rap·tor Pronunciation: 'rap-t&r, -"tor Function: noun Etymology: New Latin Raptores, former order name, from Latin, plural of raptor plunderer, from rapere 1 : BIRD OF PREY: a carnivorous bird (as a hawk, falcon, or vulture) that feeds wholly or chiefly on meat taken by hunting or on carrion 2 [New Latin -raptor (as in velociraptor)] : a usually small-to-medium-sized predatory dinosaur (as a velociraptor or deinonychus) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usnavyam3 Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 (edited) This gets me thinking whats the F-35's "unoffical" name going to be. I just dont see people calling it Lightning II. Edited November 19, 2006 by usnavyam3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith Diamond Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Now, I think the F-22 was named the Raptor because 'raptors' were popularized in Jurassic Park. A raptor stealthily sneaks up on its prey and strikes with lethal agility. However, I have seen Air Force publicity logos of the F-22 featuring a bird silouette, and a bird would be keeping with recent tradition of naming fighters after birds of prey. But, whatever the case, I bet they would not have even thought of the term if it were not for JP. I agree on the Jurassic Park reference. After that movie, it seemed that Raptors were talked about a lot, and were even more popular than the T-Rex. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Enfant-terrible Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 In Italy the F-104 Starfighter is unofficially named "Spillone" (Big pin) and the AMX Ghibli is unofficially named "Topone" (Big mouse) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fiddler Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Wasn't Viper one of the names which were proposed but lost it in favour of Fighting Falcon? I somehow remember me reading that somewhere... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wardog1 Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 This gets me thinking whats the F-35's "unoffical" name going to be. I just dont see people calling it Lightning II. POS plan and simple POS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
frankycee Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 POS plan and simple POS I just love seeing a 2 page thread on such a trivial question...dontcha just love ARC... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karl Sander Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 (edited) Wasn't Viper one of the names which were proposed but lost it in favour of Fighting Falcon? I somehow remember me reading that somewhere... There's also the school of thought that "Fighting Falcon" had something to do with the Air Force Academy, whose athletic teams are called the "Fighting Falcons." Supposedly, some ring-knocking general thought that would be "neat." In which case, if I were in the Air Force, I'd sure want to call it something else too. Fortunately for me I don't have to worry about anyone naming a plane after Canoe U. The Naval Academy's sports nickname is so absurdly lame I won't have to worry about THAT for a while - it's too lame even for today's ridiculous and embarassing naming conventions... instead I just have to worry about an airplane named after either feces or female anatomy. I too used to think the whole "renaming" to Viper was silly - until the 5-sided s&&thole expected us to actually call the EA-18G the "Growler." Edited November 21, 2006 by Karl Sander Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Actually I didn't think the Naval Academy even had an official name for their sports teams. I know they're often called the Midshipmen but I think that's more of a media thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikar Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 When the F-16 came out people wanted to call it Viper because of B.S.G. and they just weren't happy with fighting falcon. Where I was stationed the thought was that the F-16 used 'fighting' in its name because the Falcon missile was still in the inventory with the F-106. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karl Sander Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Actually I didn't think the Naval Academy even had an official name for their sports teams. I know they're often called the Midshipmen but I think that's more of a media thing. That was the nickname I was getting at. I'd LIKE to say that DoD can't POSSIBLY be so stupid as to name something THAT.... but then, I'd hate for someone to take that as a challenge... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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