# @stem_antics on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Deeyb-oAozo
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/76863668-stem-antics-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/b33c7ecda2.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-14T16:15:45.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Stem Antics (@stem_antics) — https://gondola.cc/stem_antics

## Caption

F-16 Takeoff: When Thrust Beats Weight

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was one of the first production fighters designed so that, in a light air-to-air configuration, its engine can produce more thrust than the jet weighs. That single fact changes how a takeoff works.

The numbers behind the roll:
- Engine: one F100-PW-229 or F110-GE-129 turbofan, roughly 29,000 lbf of thrust in full afterburner
- Dry (non-afterburning) thrust is closer to 17,000 to 18,000 lbf
- Empty weight is around 19,000 to 20,000 lb, with combat takeoff weights often in the mid-20,000s
- Result: a thrust-to-weight ratio above 1.0 in clean configurations

What happens on the runway:
- Afterburner sprays extra fuel directly into the exhaust stream behind the turbine, using oxygen the core combustion left unburned
- Fuel flow can jump several times higher than in dry power, trading efficiency for raw acceleration
- Net force on the aircraft is thrust minus aerodynamic drag minus rolling friction, so acceleration stays high through most of the roll
- Rotation typically happens somewhere around 150 to 170 knots depending on weight and configuration

Why it can climb so steeply:
- Lift has to support weight, but once thrust exceeds weight, the engine alone can sustain a vertical climb at low weights
- Climb rates are commonly cited near 50,000 feet per minute
- Excess power, not just wing area, is what lets the jet trade airspeed for altitude so aggressively

Takeoff is not just about lift. It is an energy problem: how fast an aircraft can convert chemical energy in fuel into kinetic and potential energy. The F-16 answers that problem with brute force and precision control.

#stemantics #aerospaceengineering #f16 #physics #aviation

## Stats

- **Views:** 3,270
- **Likes:** 45
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- **Comments:** 3

## Credits

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## Tags

physics, aviation, aerospaceengineering, stemantics, f16

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