Vortex Viper captures the Belgian Air Force Dream Viper head-on, the F-16 almost swallowed by a thick cloud of vapour as it pulls hard beneath a grey sky.This is an original Marqforde photograph taken on a grey, humid display day, when every hard pull in the Dream Viper's routine drew moisture out of the air and wrapped it around the jet.About the aircraftThe cloud is condensation. As the F-16 pulls hard, air accelerating over the wing and fuselage drops in pressure and temperature. In humid air that can take it below the dew point, even well below the speed of sound, and the moisture appears as vapour.Much of it gathers in vortices. The F-16's wing blends into the fuselage, and the strake ahead of each wing root sheds a vortex that keeps air flowing cleanly over the wing at high angles of attack. In moist air, those low-pressure cores become visible.A typical deployment took a team chief or manager, two crew chiefs, two armament technicians and a public relations photographer, plus a second pilot bringing the spare jet. A display coach, also an F-16 pilot, monitored training and acted as an extra safety aid.Quick facts Aircraft: General Dynamics F-16AM Fighting Falcon, FA-87 Dream Viper Design: Blended wing and fuselage, with wing-root strakes for high angle of attack flight Powerplant: One Pratt and Whitney F100 afterburning turbofan Operator: Belgian F-16 Solo Display Team, Kleine-Brogel Air Base Deployed team: Display pilot, spare-aircraft pilot, team chief, two crew chiefs, two armament technicians and a PR photographer Display context: Head-on pass wrapped in condensation beneath a grey sky
