2 February 1974: Test pilot Philip Francis Oestricher made the first test flight of the General Dynamics YF-16 Light Weight Fighter prototype, 72-1567, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the 90-minute flight the airplane reached 400 knots (740.8 kilometers per hour) and 30,000 feet (9,144 meters).

Built at Fort Worth, Texas, the prototype rolled out 13 December 1973. It was loaded aboard a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy heavy-lift transport and was flown to Edwards. During high-speed taxi tests on 20 January 1974 the YF-16 began to oscillate in the roll axis, threatening to touch the wingtips to the ground.

To prevent damage, Phil Oestricher lifted off to regain control and after six minutes, touched down again.

The airplane had sustained damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. Engineers determined that the airplane’s roll control was too sensitive, and that the exhaust nozzle was improperly wired, resulting in too much thrust at low throttle settings. The YF-16 was repaired and was ready for its first test flight on 2 February.

The two YF-16 prototypes competed against the Northrop YF-17 for the role of the Air Force and NATO light weight fighter program. The YF-16 was selected and single-seat F-16A and two-seat F-16B fighters were ordered. The YF-17 was developed into the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet.

The F-16 was designed to be a highly-maneuverable, light weight air superiority day fighter, but it has evolved into a multi-role fighter/fighter bomber with all weather attack capability.

The F-16 (now, a Lockheed Martin product) remains in production, with more than 4,600 having been built in the United States and under license in Europe. The United States Air Force had 1,017 F-16s in service as of 2021,

The F-16C is a single-seat, single-engine Mach 2+ fighter. It is 49.3 feet (15.03 meters) long with a wingspan of 32.8 feet (10.0 meters) and overall height of 16.7 feet (5.09 meters). It has an empty weight of 20,300 pounds (9,207.9 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 48,000 pounds (21,772 kilograms).

The fighter is powered by one Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 or General Electric F110-GE-129 afterburning turbofan engine which produces 17,800 pounds of thrust (79.178 kilonewtons) each, or 29,100 pounds (129.443 kilonewtons) with afterburner) (F100), or 29,500 pounds (131.223 kilonewtons) (F110).

The Fighting Falcon has a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 (913 miles per hour, or 1,470 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and Mach 2+ at altitude. The fighter’s service ceiling is higher than 50,000 feet (15,240 meters). Maximum range is 2,002 miles (3,222 kilometers).

The F-16C is armed with one General Electric M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm 6-barreled Gatling gun with 511 rounds of ammunition, and can carry a wide range of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and bombs.

The first production F-16A made its first flight December 1976. The U.S. Air Force inventory 1,017 C/D (2021) More than 4,600 have been built, serving with 25 air forces world wide.

The F-16 Block 70 remains in production at Greenville, South Carolina . Lockheed Martin has a backlog of 117 Block 72 aircraft as of 31 January 2025.

The first prototype YF-16, 72-1567, is now on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia.

Philip Francis Oestricher was born at Orlando, Florida, 26 September 1931. He was the first of four children of Albert Raymond Oestricher, a chiropractor, and Henriette Hyacinthe Dodane Oestricher.

He attended Orlando High School, where he was a classmate of his future wife, Patricia Ratti. Both graduated in 1949.

Oestricher then attended the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida, where he majored in engineering. While there, he was associate editor of Florida Engineer, and a member of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, Automotive Engineering Society, Sigma Tau (ΣΤ), an engineering honor society, and Phi Kappa Phi (ΦΚΦ), also an honor society. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering, 8 June 1952. Oestricher continued post-graduate studies and earned a masters degree in engineering in 1953.

Philip Francis Oestricher married Miss Patricia Maria Ratti, then a senior at the University of Florida, at 10:00 a.m., 27 December 1952, in a ceremony held at the St. James Roman Catholic Church at the corner of Orange Avenue and Robinson Street, in downtown Orlando, Florida. They would eventually have four children.

Oestricher worked for the Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation at Fort Worth, Texas, in 1953–1954.

Having enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, Private First Class Oestricher entered the USMC Officer Candidate Course at Quantico, Virginia, 12 April 1954. He graduated as a Naval Aviator and was commissioned a second lieutenant in July 1954. He attended flight training at NAS Pensacola, Florida, in 1955. He continued with advanced flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, 2 January 1956. On 27 January 1956, 1st Lieutenant Oestricher was cited as the outstanding fighter syllabus graduate from the Naval Air Advanced Training Command.

Lieutenant Ostricher was assigned to Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 114 (VMF(AW)-114, “Death Dealers”) flying the Grumman F9F-8 Cougar and Douglas F4D-1 Skyray. The squadron deployed aboard the Midway-class large aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). The carrier had just completed the SCB-110 refit and emerged with a new angled flight deck deck.

Following this tour at sea, Lieutenant Oestricher left active duty, but remained in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Phil Oestricher returned to Convair as an aeronautical engineer. He was assigned work on the B-58A Hustler, a Mach 2 strategic bomber; the Model 54, the U.S. Air Force NX-2 CAMAL ¹ nuclear-powered bomber prototype; and the RB-57F, a specialized strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

Phil Oestricher attended the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School (Class 44) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1966. The course included 420 classroom hours, and about 150 flight hours. Oestricher flew 15 different aircraft types. He graduated as his class’s outstanding student.

“He stood out as an exceptionally capable test pilot in all respects. We are proud to list him as a graduate of our school,” said D. Z. Skalla, acting director of USNTPS.²

Lieutenant Colonel Oestricher commanded VMF(AW)-112, the Marine Corps’ largest reserve squadron. At the time, the squadron was flying the Chance Vought F8U Crusader. Colonel Oestricher retired from the Marine Corps in 1973.

Phil Oestricher was a design safety engineer on the General Dynamics F-111 program. As a test pilot, he flew all models of that aircraft.

He made the first flight of the F-16B 8 August 1977.

In 1979, Oestricher was awarded the Iven C. Kincheloe Award of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for “outstanding professional accomplishment in flight testing.”

Phil Oestricher worked for General Dynamics as an engineer and test pilot for 33 years. He was the Director of Flight Test for 11 years. He retired in July 1992.

Lieutenant Colonel Philip Francis Oestricher, United States Marine Corps (Retired), died at Benbrook, Texas, 18 December 2015. He was 84 years old. His remains were interred at Woodlawn Memorial Park, Gotha, Florida.

¹ Continuous Airborne Alert, Missile Launching and Low-Level Penetration

² GENERAL DYNAMICS NEWS, Wednesday, 30 November 1966, Page 6, Column 2

© 2025, Bryan R. Swopes