{"id":24809,"date":"2013-08-06T01:23:32","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T04:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/?p=24809"},"modified":"2016-11-26T01:06:48","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T04:06:48","slug":"lieutenants-get-first-flights-in-f-22-raptor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/06\/lieutenants-get-first-flights-in-f-22-raptor\/","title":{"rendered":"Lieutenants Get First Flights in F-22 Raptor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some time ago the Air Force began giving pilot training graduates an assignment to the F-22 directly out of UPT<\/a>.\u00a0 Previously, pilots had to be trained in\u00a0another fighter — F-15, F-16 — first, then take the F-22 as a future assignment. The F-22 was always intended to be a traditional “pipeline” fighter, however, so it was only a matter of time before the first F-22 Lt took to the air<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After three years of rigorous U.S. Air Force pilot training, 25-year-old 1st Lt. Andrew Van Timmeren, 7th Fighter Squadron pilot, finally got to climb into the world\u2019s most advanced fighter jet and take it for a spin…<\/p>\n

When 1st Lt. Stephen Renner, 7th FS pilot, walked out to an F-22 for the first time, he had to do a gut check.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The two did have to fly three sorties in an F-16, so their path to the F-22 was still slightly different than other fighters — but then, the F-22 is slightly different:\u00a0 It is the only US Air Force fighter that does not have a two-seat version.\u00a0 (Likewise, the A-10 is single-seat only.)<\/p>\n

Recognize the name Van Timmeren?\u00a0 He was the Cadet Wing Commander at USAFA — who almost quit in Basic Training, until a Chaplain convinced him to stay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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