What Does The Inside Of An F-16 Fighter Jet Look Like?

The fearsome F-16 Fighting Falcon has evolved considerably throughout its half a century of service and continues to cut a distinctive figure. With its sleek design and single engine that generates approximately 27,000 pounds of thrust, it's capable of flying up to Mach 2 and can travel a range of around 1,700 nautical miles. The jet is frequently seen strutting its acrobatic stuff at air shows as the official aircraft of the Thunderbirds.

As Major Jeffrey "Simmer" Downie of the USAF Thunderbirds put it (via Business Insider), "You'll see us flying as close as 18 inches apart, up to 150 feet off the ground, and up to, but not at, the speed of sound ... literally right up to the edge of the envelope of what's possible in these jets." From the ground, it's spellbinding to watch a Fighting Falcon in flight, but there's something that we sometimes don't consider: What it's like for the intrepid pilot inside the cockpit.

The F-16 is primarily designed for a single occupant, though there are variants that offer room for two for invaluable training purposes. The two-seater F-16B isn't any more spacious, however, with the extra cockpit space being subtracted from other areas. Specifically, the Air Force reports, "to make room for the second cockpit, the forward fuselage fuel tank and avionics growth space were reduced." The bubble design of the cockpit was implemented to provide far greater visibility. Though this is a great boon for pilots, the nearly 50-foot-long jet is far from spacious.

While larger aircraft like the B-2 bomber actually offer a toilet in the interior, fighter jets like the F-16 fighter jet will typically dispense with even those kinds of spartan offerings. The reason for this, according to fighter pilot Hasard Lee, is that "the F-16 is a stripped-down hot rod that was designed back in the 70s to dogfight ... every ounce of weight that was extraneous was seen as an extra ounce that the enemy could use against you."

The inside of an F-16, as such, essentially consists of a small and sophisticated cockpit, incorporating advanced displays, instruments, and a side-mounted control stick, contrary to the design style that typically saw it in the middle, which could make leg placement distinctly uncomfortable and would reduce the available real estate even further. Completing the cockpit is a seat designed to complement the wide viewpoint offered by the F-16's bubble dome.

The versatility of the seat allows it to recline to about 30 degrees, both reducing the effects of effects of G force and allowing for a little extra movement in the cramped cockpit. A tight squeeze it may be, but the design of a fighter jet is all about giving the pilot intuitive and practical access to all necessary controls. The Falcon excels in this area. The BBC quotes journalist Jeff Bolton's great praise for the model: " ... It is literally like putting on a leather driving glove when you get in it ... [there's] a recognition from your body that you're 'wearing' the aeroplane."