Thanks for the comments on other topics. F16's are fast but ultimately Ducatis are way faster!

There was much debate about the weight of the Viper which came from 001 using the F18 Capricorn boards and rudders. Platform weights are now 120kgs.

If you made a Taipan the same width and blew the hull volume out to the same - it'd weigh exactly the same too! Pulling the Viper, Taipan and Blade up the ramp at the end of a sail it's Taipan, Viper, Blade in terms of 'easy'.

I can definitely tell you, any kilos the Viper is perceived to be carrying is more than compensated for by the dynamics! Seriously you can push it way harder than anything I've tried in the past.

We'll be pitting our Hybrid Blade against the good Vipers here so it's going to be an interesting shoot out! I guess we're in a rather unique situation as far as F16's go. 20 X Taipans, 3 X Blades, 11 X Vipers.

Jumping from one to another gives us a good taste of all of them...