A jet like this must be the toughest kind of project to get right at this size. At 1/5 scale, an F-16 replica carries real weight, and the maker has to launch it from grass, fly a full routine and put it back down on the same rough strip. Everything in the ground phase looked controlled: the aircraft was checked over on the airfield, accelerated across the grass, then later greased the landing and rolled back to where the pilot stood.
The mechanical side is what impresses me most here. Power comes from a miniature turbine, and the model flies on working control surfaces with retractable wheeled gear, a serious ask over a grass runway. A clear cockpit canopy and a shaped exhaust nozzle at the rear round out the airframe nicely.
The finish deserves its own mention. Orange and black demo colours, the tail code J-015 in black lettering on the fin, Dutch roundels, and small rescue markings along the forward fuselage. The maker has said the scheme comes from Dordogne, France.
What the airframe is actually built from is still an open question. Nothing about the structural materials has been stated. Judging by the flying, though, whatever sits under the paint is up to the job: flat-out passes, aileron rolls, vertical climbs and low banking turns, then a smooth touchdown and a rollout to applause.
Project by Club d'Aéromodélisme de Ribérac. Watch it on their YouTube channel: