Hobby Master 1/72 HA3880 Lockheed F-16C Block 40 88-0428, "South Dakota ANG 70th Anniversary", 2016

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was produced by General Dynamics who became Lockheed who then merged with Martin Marietta to become Lockheed Martin. The F-16 entered service in January 1979 as a multi-role jet fighter that evolved into an all-weather multi-role aircraft capable of sustaining 9-g turns. The F-16 is relatively inexpensive to purchase and maintain so the U.S. and 25 other countries added it to their inventory. The Fighting Falcon is referred to by its pilots as the “Viper” and will remain in USAF service until 2025.

F-16C Block 40 88-0428 MSN 1C-30 was completed in 1989 and assigned to the 4th TFS/388th TFW "Fightin Fujins" and deployed for “ODS”. In 1994 the aircraft was reassigned to the 421st FS “Black Widows. In 2010 88-0428 was transferred to the South Dakota ANG 114th FW / 175th FS “Lobos”. In 2016 to celebrate the South Dakota ANG 70th Anniversary 88-0428 received a special color scheme. September was a busy month for 88-0428 because it was deployed to Lask AB, Poland to take part in a bilateral training exercise “Aviation Detachment 16-4”.