"Alan Dicey" wrote in message
o.uk...
Dr.Smith wrote:

I heard or read somewhere that the name 'Viper' is an unofficial name given
to the Falcon now by pilots who watched "Battlestar Galactica" as
children, or is it named DIRECTLY after snakes?

The beaurocrats took far too long to decide on a name, and the pilots flying
the so-far-unnamed fighter took to calling it "Viper", after the fighters
used by the good guys on the then-current show, Battlestar Galactica. The
F-16 with its sidestick, laid-back seat and fly-by-wire seemed futuristic,
and the name fitted.

It was eighteen months after the plane went into service that the official
name "Fighting Falcon" was bestowed.

And those of us who had to do aircraft recognition testing cursed the wonks
who came up with it -- it took too long to write it down when you were doing
a/c recce.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)