Re: F-16 over-runs runway at Osh...no injuries
There's actually a lot of detail about this on the internet, as it's a pretty popular question.
The short story is this:
- Viper was General Dynamics' original proposed name for the airplane (remember that it competed with the Northrop YF-17 'Cobra' -- note the snake names) for a lot of different reasons (plenty to read on the 'net for this).
- Viper sounds better than "Fighting Falcon"...so that's what pilots and maintainers call it. In the same way that A-10s are "Hogs", B-1s are "Bones", F-105s were "Thuds", P-47s were "Jugs", etc.
Originally posted by AirDOGGe
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Why do F-16 pilots prefer Viper over the original official name? Is there a story behind it? 
The short story is this:
- Viper was General Dynamics' original proposed name for the airplane (remember that it competed with the Northrop YF-17 'Cobra' -- note the snake names) for a lot of different reasons (plenty to read on the 'net for this).
- Viper sounds better than "Fighting Falcon"...so that's what pilots and maintainers call it. In the same way that A-10s are "Hogs", B-1s are "Bones", F-105s were "Thuds", P-47s were "Jugs", etc.
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