black stripes and squares

[Stafsels]

Hi all,

Shot question:
The Oranje Jumper (F-16BM J-066 RNLAF) has got white drop tanks under the wingstations.
These are applied with black digits; stripes and squares.

For what purpose?

Greetings,

Henk

[Pete]

I don't know the exact purpose, but the stripes and squares look similar to the ones used in crashtests to measure deformation of the bodywork. So my guess is that the fueltank is subjected to high g-loads to see if it deforms at higher loads. Also there was sprayed on G-10. I doubt however they are trying to pull 10-g on the fuel tank but you'll never know.

Regards Pete

[Flyboy]

This was the question I asked the pilot during the open days: this specific plane is equiped with several outboard camera's (also fitted during the show) and the black and white boxes are reference point during dropping and other testflight purposes. The strong contrast between white and black provides accurate data for exact positioning on the film.

[topgun1984]

Well this does state that you can learn something from "MythBusters" LOL