Hobby Master 1:72 F-16B Fighting Falcon J-259, RNLAF

F-16B #78-0259, tail number J-259, was the first F-16 delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1979. It arrived at Leeuwarden Air Base on June 7, flown by Major Sneek, who later became commander of the base as a Colonel. J-259 was a Block-1 F-16, initially equipped with a black radome, which was later replaced with the standard gray radome used on Block-5 production aircraft. This milestone marked the start of the Netherlands' F-16 fleet, providing advanced air defence and multirole capability for the RNLAF. On June 29, 1999, the final flight was made from Volkel Air Base to Woensdrecht Air Base to be used for technical training. The aircraft had accumulated over 2,500 flight hours.

Lockheed F-16B Fighting Falcon

Designed by General Dynamics as a lightweight, daytime USAF air-combat fighter, the F-16 was first flown on January 20th, 1974. This single-engine, supersonic aircraft has, over the years, evolved into a multirole aircraft. It has a frameless bubble canopy-giving its pilot superior visibility-and it uses advanced aerodynamics. The F-16 was one of the first designs to use a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire system, which helps it pull 9-g maneuvers and achieve speeds of more than Mach 2. Called "Viper" by its pilots, the F-16 is considered one of the most successful aircraft designs of the Cold War, with 4,400+ aircraft built since 1976.