Tiger Turn n Burn captures the Belgian Air Force X-Tiger banked hard over, the tiger-striped F-16 streaming smoke from its wingtips as it hauls round a turn against blue sky and cloud.This is an original Marqforde photograph taken in the middle of the Belgian F-16 Solo Display, with the wings close to vertical and the jet holding a tight, hard turn.About the aircraftFA-136 served as the solo display team's reserve jet in 2022 and 2023, fitted in around exercises in Portugal, the UK and Norway and NATO Tiger Meets in Greece and Italy. At RIAT 2022 it flew the display after the Dream Viper developed technical problems.The pilot was Senior Captain Steven "Vrieske" De Vries of 31 Squadron. He converted to the F-16 in 1994, flew with 23 "Devil" Squadron until its 2002 disbandment, and designed 31 Squadron's 2017 Tiger Meet jet, FA-94, with naval and pirate touches for Landivisiau.His routine stood out for its many manoeuvres flown under negative g, with a negative loop as its highlight. The F-16 was designed to sustain 9g turns even with full fuel, its seat reclined 30 degrees to help the pilot withstand the load.Quick facts Aircraft: General Dynamics F-16AM Fighting Falcon, FA-136 "X-Tiger" Pilot: Senior Captain Steven "Vrieske" De Vries, the first non-US pilot to pass 5,000 F-16 hours, in March 2021 Performance: Designed for sustained 9g turns with full fuel Operator: Belgian F-16 Solo Display Team, Kleine-Brogel Air Base Notable fact: Flew the solo display at RIAT 2022 when the Dream Viper was unavailable Display context: Hard banked turn trailing wingtip smoke, mid-display
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