for fuel performance if you fly at 33,000 altitude then your plane will easily get back to base, i guess that's why civillian airplanes fly around the same altitude.

when i fly in formation ( say with an escort ) i always remain far far behind the escort. i fly at around 250 speed. this means my escort will engage any enemy and degrade the enemies power, a very long time before i get close. who cares about reaching the waypoint on time. your most important concern is to stay alive.

always send your wingman and your element/ flight, to engage enemies before you do.

the most important system the f-16 has is the RWR. use this to fly around and away from any threats, ground and air. i rarely get shot at ( missiles) because i stay away from their envelope.

If you want to fly at 33000 altitude first you have to get to this altitude. This means flying with either more power applied or with greater angle of attack. If you apply more power - you will consume more fuel while climbing, if you pitch greater AOA - your speed and climb rate will suffer.

Basically, you will not be able to get to 33000 feet at "economic - 90%" power with your payload.

By pushing your escort into spearhead position you refuse from any cover while attacking at your own.

And you cannot actually fly around threats - there is a war going there and all valuable objects and positions are protected. The way out is in - terrain following approaches, having enough power for defensive maneuvering, enough countermeasures for dispensing.

Obviously... But the fuel you spend during the climb is insignificant compared to the fuel you save by flying high. Usually climbs are made at military power and pitching for speed.

Oooohh yes! The key to conserve fuel is altitude.
I usually follow the flightplan, and cruise between 20.000 and 25.000 feet.
The fuelflow-meter is wise to observe, 'cause if you fly the same mission twice and use the low alt. tactic in the first, and then high alt. tactic in the second, there is a big difference in fuel left when you land!

Happy hunting.

While I agree in most part to what you say.......
The above used tactic would be useless if you have competent OPFOR pilots flying BARCAP.
From my perch @ 22-32k, and full hardpoints..... you couldnt get close to the target!
Sure I might lose you in the ground clutter for a second or two..... but when you're close enough for me to take a shot..... I'll have no problem picking you up on radar.

And remember......
Killing you is not my 1st objective.
Making you give up, or miss is all I really gotta do...... Splashing you is just a Bonus!

I will be able to reach out and touch you at greater distance than you to me.....
And I will have Alt. and Speed to my advantage.... while all you got is a Jettison button, and hopefully enough fuel to make it home after my barrage of 120's. (provided you did manage to evade them all!)

Now if you're talking strictly Ground threats... and you have Clear Skies....
Carry On !

All Just MHO.......................

..............

it's not insignificant

this is why airliners on very long flights perform step climbs. the airplane is too heavy at the start of the flight to be flying efficiently at 39,000 feet so they will cruise for a while around 25-29,000 feet, then after some fuel has burned off they'll step up 3-5,000 feet and continue the process until the aircraft is light enough to be flying at high altitude efficiently.

100% correct, but you are not flying an airliner in Falcon. It is relatively insignificant for fighter jets, airliners might spend more than 20 minutes climbing to their initial cruising altitude, in the F-16 it takes 3-4 minutes, even less if you are light. It is insignificant in the way that, it is always better to fly high (to save fuel) than to not use extra fuel for climbing and stay low.