F-16 Start Up Sequence

Start up of the F-16C is simple....no external APUs or other equipment is necessary. One switch turns on the battery and then another switch hits the Jet Fuel Starter. When you see the GREEN JFS light, unock the throttle and in less than a minute you're up to idle speed, and the only thing left to do is aligning the inertial navigation and perform pre-flight checks. BTW, the sound you hear at the beginning, its not an APU, its the motor from the canopy. You'll here a buzz, thats the battery, then you'll here it spooling thru N (nancy) stages. You'll notice he then glances over at the fan turbine inlet temp, oil pressure, nozzle position (NOZ) and RPM guages. After that he glances left and as the two lights go out on the left side panel, its all clear on engine start. He then reaches to the right, turns on the lights, and turns on navigation and other nav functions. As the navs start coming up and the ICP is lit up, you will notice the green lettering in the box to the RIGHT of the ICP, that is the inertial navigation system, and as that goes thru its checks you'll see "RDY" which means its ready and aligned. Then the MFD's come up and the HUD comes alive. The F-16C has a new wide angle HUD, which provides all flight info and weapons aiming Q's so the pilot can keep his head out of the cockpit and on target. Directly below the HUD you'll see the square box, called ICP or Inegrated Control Panel, on either side you'll see two MFD's that can show tac, nav, weapons and other information. When you see him hit the buttons on the MFDs thats the pilot inputting mission parameters from the box.
For an excellent video overview of the HUD, wide angle heads up display, weapons delivery and ICP check out • Video
THANKS!!!

[@SilverHwk7]

This video became the stock sound effect for every cockpit and F-16 engine start in FSX...

[@Pendragon1989]

I mean, that's how it sounds, so..

[@alethino]

Literally Iris F16's sounds ahah

[@Youda00008]

Wow, even those sounds match, incredible job by Eagle Dynamics.

[@trumpwall1058]

thats real footage

[@goldenstateaviation2861]

@@trumpwall1058 yeah but he’s mentioning how similar it is to the sim

[@drutalero2962]

It does depend on the block though. The startup sounds different with the pratts

[@rmm3803]

General Dynamics

[@drutalero2962]

@@rmm3803 he's talking about eagle dynamics on their sound effects for their dcs simulator game

[@jdarksword]

Finally I know where the game developers get their canopy sounds.

[@geraltofvengerberg3049]

so bms devs brought canopy sound from this vid lol

[@mofo6907]

Looks like they get their plane canopy sounds from plane canopies

[@mikemac2888]

You mean taka a digital device and record them? Did you go to college...

[@pepperonimoto433]

@@geraltofvengerberg3049 I used to have a sound pack for Allied Force that used engine sounds from this video

[@eagle6754]

Thanks for the memories. I had maintained F-16's (blocks 15 through 40) and was engine run certified for close to 16 years. Probably have a few hundred hours running both the Pratt's and the GE's. That was alot of years ago now, but the sights and the sounds of the canopy, the JFS and the engine does bring back some happy memories.... except; those 40 minute oil consumption runs and those long lonely mosquito infested nights on the trim pad!

[@theeltea]

Eagle 6 whats a trim pad?

[@huladeez9121]

TheLT it is an area where they do engine runs.

[@user-pr7sl6og6x]

@@theeltea test run area

[@andrewbartczak5941]

I was a crew chief on A/B, C/D at Torrejon AB Spain, 1986-1988. The sounds man, the sounds...

[@eagle6754]

@@andrewbartczak5941 Was on several TDY's to Zaragoza from Hahn. On one such TDY, I was able to get an incentive ride on a KC-135; the aircraft mission itself was to fly out over the ocean and be the last leg of the fuel drag for Torrejon's very first five F-16s coming in fresh from the factory. Still have great refueling photos from it, somewhere in the closet. Good times... back in the day.

[@gary851]

way easier than starting my car in winter,

[@eagle6754]

gary851 Except if the JFS doesn't start with both bottles blown. Any volunteers to help manually pump the bottles back up with that T-handle?

[@Manaritzis88]

Αbsolutely

[@Kestrel16C]

Carburated engines... I can feel the pain.

[@IVAOpilot]

As a BMS pilot, I have to say: It's kind of scary how familiar everything is ^^

[@SteelbeastsCavalry]

We could probably jump in and start it right up!

[@2011SoxMD36]

As a career F-16 mechanic, I had to say the first time I played BMS, was scary how accurate everything was. Hah

[@forsaturn4629]

player*

[@drutalero2962]

What's BMS? Figured dcs was the go to..

[@dazin7886]

Dru Talero it’s a old sim from the 90s and early 2000’s called “Falcon 4.0” the sim got brought back to live with “BMS” a couple years ago with new graphics and some other stuff. The sim if you guessed is based on the the fighting falcon the f16. It is the most accurate simulation of the f16 probably out there. And I’m pretty sure (I don’t really play it) but it also has all the different block models of the viper as well. From block 30 to block 52. And when comparing to dcs well the dcs viper ain’t everything there so bms is the way to go right now. Though it lacks in a lot of areas graphics being the most notable one. The sim also features other aircraft such as the F/A-18c hornet however again the sim is based around the viper so the f18 carries the same avionics and flight model of the f16. But before dcs blew up and made the f18 BMS was quite popular.

[@copperhamster]

My father worked at General Dynamics. I got to go up in a shiny new D (trainer) in a 'check ride' in '87. They had 3 congress critters scheduled to go up and only one showed and my father called me and said if I could make it to the plant/Carswell (they're across the street from each other) within an hour they could get me up. I may have broken a few speed limits. I did not, however, earn my 9G pin. I also knew the pilot (Neil something) that broke their demonstration YF-16 just before they were going to pack it up and fly it to the Paris Air Show in a transport. He went down the runway to well beyond rotate speed, took off and pulled straight up into a zoom climb and started doing an aileron roll in a ballistic climb with the gear still deployed. They had been doing it with him pulling the gear in before starting the rolls, but he thought that looked even more impressive. It did. It also bent the nose gear and jammed it when it retracted, because of the gyroscope effect of the spinning front wheel. He couldn't get it to redeploy and thus ended up belly landing the plane in the grass. They had to repaint the only other YF-16 they had (It has all the 'test plane' markings not the red-white-blue show off paint job) and loaded it on the transport with the paint still wet.

[@JUNIOR43950]

What did I just read? Lol

[@rotsen995]

What I just read was an interesting story. The guy above is to stupid to understand.

[@SteelbeastsCavalry]

Carswell waa the old SAC base full of B-36s at one time. They filmed Strategic Air Command with James Stewart there. Ah the good ol days.

[@stevelikesrhino]

you lucky bestard!

[@troubleq80]

wow just like Falcon 4.0 start up sequence. I didn't realize how realistic it was until now

[@RoninOtter]

This is why military cockpits are awesome. It looks like Star Wars even just turning everything on. Thanks so much for posting this! :)

[@Archy11102]

One of the best aircrafts ever built - Viper is something special indeed. Thumbs up to guy who's flying this beautiful machine.

[@SnorreSelmer]

There's just something magical about the high pitch sound of the APU spining up and then hearing the low growl of the engine... Makes me miss the days as a CCA in the Air Force..

[@huseyinmumun2]

It's jfs

[@davidmcinnis154]

Thanks for the upload. Really brings back memories of being ground crew during aircraft launch. Never heard the engine / JFS sounds from inside before.

[@theaceofspades485]

It's awesome after been playing Falcon BMS for a week straight and have a solid understanding of what's going on. They made that sim in so much beautiful detail.

[@deepalperera4592]

Have you tried ED's Viper?

[@theaceofspades485]

@@deepalperera4592 Yes ,actually I no longer play BMS. I bought a new computer aince this comment and got frustrated trying to get it to work. I have tje F-18/16 for DCS world

[@deepalperera4592]

@@theaceofspades485 That's great :)

[@theaceofspades485]

@@deepalperera4592 yeah looking forward to a finished F-16 though. While DCS does have superb graphics the F-16 has a long way to go. :)

[@deepalperera4592]

@@theaceofspades485 Yeah they like releasing stuff early

[@zalseon4746]

Stuff like this is why i wanted to be a fighter pilot as a kid. DoD at the time said my eyesight deadlined that career choice, but the electronics and aerospace side of it all just always fascinated me and inspired me to write a sci-fi series about fighter pilots. Never got to be in the air, but by god i'm gonna live my passion one way or another lol

[@3rdEyeGnostic]

My paps was a senior master sgt. in the AF. He would take me out to an area near the flightline where crew, having repaired an engine and put it back in, tethered the aircraft to anchor bolt in ground. He would have a box connected via cable that allowed him to throttle it up and down, as I sat in cockpit. I was a lucky kid.

[@flightlevel69]

great story!!!!

[@drutalero2962]

@Nino Brown lmfao yoooo go easy on his core memory bro.

[@croozer11]

GPS coordinates shows it's from a Greek airbase on the island of Crete.

[@MichalisZaharakisprf]

croozer11 ορθόν..

[@buttsexmotorsport3]

how do u know where to show the coordinates?

[@memerichment]

in the video, dummy

[@buttsexmotorsport3]

@@memerichment no u

[@adjustings673]

croozer11 Souda Airbase. Dont wanna advertise but i got vids of them on my channel

[@bunnyrabbits35]

F-16's are indeed among my favorite Air Force aircraft.

[@DD-sw1dd]

Everybody that flys Falcon BMS is feeling validated...Myself included.

[@alfredozertuche784]

Well made video along with all instructions of what every movement of the pilot was doing. Kudos

[@razorbackblood06]

Now I just need to happen upon an F-16 parked outside of a doughnut shop and its all mine!

[@FlenderBlender1]

razorbackblood06 And then the intake will swallow a bunch of FOD in the parking lot and the whole engine will explode! ;)

[@99domini99]

FlenderBlender1 yaaaaay! *compressor stall intensifies*

[@anindowhitehead4539]

razorbackblood06

[@Viper1Zero]

A fellow Spartan.

[@moitoi4064]

razorbackblood06 they didn’t tell you which button to press to start the engine, let me explain to you. Turn power switch to main pwr. Fuel master switch On Air source knob to Normal Parking brake switch On Jet fuel starter to 1 or 2 depending on outside temperature When RPM gauge reaches 20% push throttle over idle detent Too early you get a hot start and might burn the engine, too late you exhaust the supply of compressed air before igniting the engine. Monitor Fan Turbine Inlet Temperature, a little less than 900 degree is ok for a normal start, over 900 degree you are in hot start, abort immediately Check oil and hydraulic pressure, 40 psi and 2000 psi respectively At 40% RPM JFS switches off as engine spools off on its own At 55% RPM battery switches off as main generator starts At 70% RPM engine comes out of secondary engine computer mode into primary mode Start up is complete, power on avionics, perform system check. You’re ready to go

[@MrLu777]

I remember that starting sound. I used to start the F-16's in the past. I miss it.

[@unnamednewbie13]

Reactor online. Sensors online. Weapons online. All systems nominal. **tweee-deep!**

[@avahxnley685]

un13 I saw sytems nominal and immediately thought of nerdcubed.

[@AGeiisz]

MechWarrior, Hell Yea

[@45100]

Shields?

[@ThaFuzzwood]

@@45100 Not in the mech warrior universe. Active missile defense is the best you got besides armor.

[@viktorvincent8887]

F-16 is the most comfortable modern fighter to sit in , love the 30 degree recline & the side mounted control stick & throttle w/ arm rest which helps absorb g's. Much better then pulling that big stick between your legs crashing into your thighs & bladder 😂

[@opykennedy6915]

Yeah, I like the side stick setup. I use a similar configuration for flight sims. But that angled seat must force more effort to look behind you. With that wonderful canopy it's great if you can keep your adversary in the front 200 degrees, just doesn't always happen.

[@LoneWolf-dv7ul]

I used to rent a house from a pilot when I lived in Va. beach in the 80's. At the time he was stationed in Florida. I believe he was Navy. One of the nicest people I ever met in my 54 years.

[@TheTruthHurtsYup]

Thank you for this video. To those of us who couldn't make it to fly (medical problem for me :() This made me feel like I was in the cockpit and starting it up. Always been my dream and will have to stay that way for me. Thanks again! :)

[@scottmaskal6481]

There are a lot of things he/she is looking for during an engine run. Hung start, hot start, JFS catches fire, aircraft jumps chocks etc...the class that trains us is pretty intense. The first time going into afterburner is a trip. Definitely not a game.

[@patsfan71771]

awesome video, thank you very much for posting it. I regret not going into the military. Thank you for serving and protecting this great country and God bless you.

[@hansonma9553]

***Falcon BMS startup tutorial, expert edition

[@s2korpionic]

Oh man I remember digging in the manuals and tutorial videos to just start the F-16 up in BMS. Lots of work, but worth it in the end!

[@prospectnyc]

holy crap this is awesome!

[@jghagemann]

great vid, it is so cool they way they can build in all the gauges inside a fighter jet!

[@captainjosue]

This is probably one of the most bad ass things I've ever seen.

[@ziggen2434]

Thanks for the reply! Dont know much about this but extremely interested in all things flight related. Thanks again! .

[@cfrincon]

To date the best in-cockpit Falcon Ramp Start Video around.

[@badkarma44]

i was totally waiting for like the airwolf start up sequence

[@pavelratatoskov]

fantastica !!!!

[@maxzmaxz11]

thanks a lot, for doing that nice & detailed video ! best wishes from germany.....

[@HerrHIVEMIND]

awesome video. this is the only american jet aside from the old 50's era stuff that i really got into.very very awesome video, once again! :D

[@Makos93]

Starting the F-16 in Falcon 4 Allied Force looks exactly same! I love this game. :P And nice vid!

[@subzino]

Fantastic video! Thank you!

[@peter486]

coolest thing i have ever seen.

[@forsaturn4629]

4:45 His alignment resets LMAO rip

[@katarinatothova7060]

Holy shit I just watched dcs ins vids lmao

[@gavinbranch5467]

video probably ended right there bc he smashed his phone once he saw it reset

[@windshearahead7012]

Go back to DCS or educate yourself. You can clearly see it flashing ready so the alignment was complete. What he did was he switched the INS knob to NAV that’s why it said 0. The alignment was complete

[@windshearahead7012]

And that’s why the 91 came up because he switched the INS knob to NAV

[@arevir68rivera]

Amazing awesomeness!!

[@asadpuppy1259]

Idk why but this is my favourite video on this website

[@asadpuppy1259]

There's just something about to age and details that I find appealing

[@Daywalker_27]

SWEET!!! I could only imagine what it be like to do this for a living.

[@skyace47053]

THIS IS SO SICKKKKKK!!!

[@sbelosevic]

Thank you very much for your explanation!

[@ISNOTDEAD11]

Thank you so much for this vid.

[@Megalodon64]

lol you said that the start up is simple and you wrote like almost 4 paragraphs. for some reason that cracked me up

[@mattypants1975]

worked F16 Avionics for 6 years.....best job I ever had....except for the long hours and sometimes bad weather.........wish I never left!!!!!

[@ginolorenzo4117]

I like how I saw everything so clearly

[@orangie84]

ohhh that is just so cooooool!

[@SteelbeastsCavalry]

0:39 Waiting for the magical 20% 1:24 get that AC on to cool down those electronics

[@windshearahead7012]

Actually it’s 25%

[@Rubber290]

Thanks m8 u r really helpfull i will go and watch that DVD and ive already got good test marks at high school and i do sit-ups and pressups evreyday so im pretty much all ready except my illness but thanks for the advice m8 :-)

[@fiststicks851]

3:16 Always make sure your jet has enough SALT.

[@mushmouth1981]

Nice, I hear some places were still dispatching engines from the shop but that was mainly from the heavy guys. Ready to back to 16's.

[@LuisCaneSec]

I love the falcon series. I play Freefalcon6 mostly. Thanks to the rampstarting in FF, everything in this video makes sense to me.

[@singleproppilot]

The engine starter is just a tiny turboshaft engine, and it burns jet fuel just like the main engine. What you're thinking of is the Emergency Power Unit, which provides hydraulic and electric power if the main engine fails. It is fueled by a mixture of hydrazine and water, but it is not the mixing that produces a reaction. The hydrazine and water are contained together, then when they are released they pass across a catalyst which ignites the two fluids and produces gases to drive a turbine.

[@Gwizdek94]

Wow...! F16 is amzing! :)

[@michaelg.9791]

What a sequence , to talk darkness with a scary noise.

[@gaberhunter]

Freaking awesome video!

[@Darkwrath2009]

Lol amartinjoe, Im apart of the FSX US militart force on fsx and i fly an f16 like this, the sounds and everything is spot on and i do all the stauff this guys dose to start this airplane, so i guess i could start an f-16 if i wanted to lol.

[@papyfun5097]

dude explained how to start up the f16 in the description what a legend

[@blackbirdbe]

Great vid, have seen it several times :D Good comment you added there maverick;) grtz

[@Skyisnotalimit]

cool film!

[@nickst2797]

Thank you! It would be really cool to show us the things that come before even this. How do you open up the canopy, how do you buckle yourself up. Preflight procedure outside the aircraft done by the support crew....

[@JSRJS]

Just google DCS F-16 startup...it's the exact same process

[@TexasGreed]

Fighter jets sound like a haunted house full of very angry ghosts.

[@loopmakingplug6726]

Or a satanic vacuum cleaner lmao

[@tuxicle]

Nice video, thanks!

[@Enonymouse_]

A-B-A-B-UP-DOWN-LEFT-RIGHT-A-B-START that covers it.

[@theforce119]

VERY nice!

[@spiff1003]

I once attended RoNAF school and were educated by one F16 instructor (about something else) but at some point he told someting about an A/C who got a compressor-stall I'm not wrong that were almost lost because the pilot attempted to "fire" these bottles at too high altitude to have any effect. I understood this as gas-bottles then, but this fellow corrected me to be pressurized air, even though that was what I meant, and he added that they may have to pump it by hand if it isn't done correctly

[@tomservo5007]

how are there not more videos like these? Even ones explaining buttons would be awesome.

[@neljav84]

So cool...

[@manbra8408]

so good

[@LuisCaneSec]

I've been playing Freefalcon and because of that I understand most of what's going on in this video.

[@valdemar2401]

just amazing

[@integralsrulz]

Just to piggy back on this, the JFS is a small turbine engine that is used to start the engine. It is connected to the accessory drive gearbox or ADG for short and does not use bleed air supplied by a generator like some aircraft use. The jfs provides mechanical power to bring the engine up to about 20% power, where the engine is set to idle and can start by itself without support equipment.

[@integralsrulz]

The throttle arm is held in certain positions due to something called the "throttle detent" or some will call it a guard or "over the horn". When the throttle is in the fuel cut off position it is behind said detent towards the rear of the cockpit. The next "detent" or stop in the throttle arm is called "mil power" short of 100% throttle without burner. Lifting the throttle arm over the next hump will put the engine in max power or 100% full afterburner.

[@amartinjoe]

whoah; this is just amazing. what a lucky guy who gets to fly jets like these..... ..so many buttons/switches/...it's like an ATM machine......

[@titolevis]

Thank you so much mate! ;)

[@mushmouth1981]

Used to love running there. After a wild it gets old. Now running 4 engines at a time on the B-1 is a lot better!! More room and more thrust!!!!

[@MichaelrAngora]

Awesome!

[@Strange_Man1911]

- Nice graphics bro! What flight sim are you using and what's your setup? Mac or PC?

[@brh7246]

it is not a simulation it is a real F-16 Bro

[@efrainy1949]

Hozi Konséko dumbass

[@Philippe-ch6uk]

r/whoosh

[@PeeKayEx]

Philippe 7433 whooshhh

[@gherthort]

@@brh7246 it's a joke dumbass

[@etanramoz]

WOW! Nice!!

[@benjamink1403]

The sound of the JFS/engine start-up sequence is so familiar, even after all these years I'd recognize it anywhere.

[@OmegaDude22]

Holy crap that windshield is a great sound barrier *Ba dum tsch*

[@therocinante3443]

Wow, the resolution really makes it easy to see what they're doing!

[@Rolandhinio]

I suggest you do well in school - this helps a lot

[@DigitalDyslexia]

Yeah, you're flying a badass tank destroying jet. What could be better? Nothing beats the Warthog.

[@fr3ds4t]

Usually a suitable value would be 8.0, but in some cases, during scrambles, the "aling in flight" option is used. INS stands for Inertial Navigation System.

[@yggdrasildj]

Chills.

[@flaviokodama]

very very cool...

[@MrAlfaq2]

You are one lucky Guy I would give everything to be in your seat It takes a lot to be where you are my Friend

[@singleproppilot]

The Jet Fuel Starter is basically a tiny turboshaft engine, and it's the very high pitched scream you hear from 0:18 to 1:00 in this video. In the video, it looks as though the JFS shuts off when the main engine reaches about 60% RPM, and then the main engine accelerates to idle.

[@xendiac7725]

First comment of 2021. Greetings! Hope you have a good year!

[@mushmouth1981]

I was at Shaw for 7 years then did 1 at the Kun. Loved working the 16. Trying my luck at Aviano or Misawa if this presidential thing doesn't pan out soon.

[@youronlycow]

awesome! now im able to fly F-16C

[@crazypilot4017]

Nice 👍

[@ahsisti]

I wish my bike could do those sounds when I push the start Button LOL. The ride would be much more fun!

[@integralsrulz]

The F-16 has two JFS accumulators, think of them as hydraulic "bottles". JFS start 1 used one bottle, while start 2 uses both bottles. JFS start 2 has a higher chance of a start on first attempt. Although if you deplete the bottles, the poor crew chief gets to go under the left wheel well and used a T bar to pump them back up.... Oh how I don't miss doing that at all.