Reviews

The JA-3/JA-4 full-scale model in this movie is more like the Bell X-2, which had swept wings, than the Bell X-1, which had short, stubby straight wings. The movie aircraft is like the Bell X-1/X-2 rocket planes in that it has no air intakes (inlets) and therefore is not a jet. Jet aircraft have air breathing engines with the necessary inlets while rockets do not. This movie had no bearing on the design of the F-16, which is a jet. I was an aerospace engineer in F-16 advanced programs, first at Wright Field (mentioned in the movie) in the 1970s, and then at General Dynamics in the 1980s. This is one of my favorite aviation movies, even though it reflects Hollywood's dramatic idea of how aircraft are designed and developed rather than the actual process.