USAFA Aircraft Crashes into Hangar
The US Air Force Academy reported that one of its T-53 Kadet 2s was involved in an incident on Monday:
A T-53 Kadet 2 (Cirrus SR 20) aircraft was damaged when it crashed Read more
Category Archives: Fighter Pilot
X-37B to Launch Again
The US Air Force’s secretive space plane, the X-37B, will reportedly launch yet again on a “test” sortie to prove its utility and cost-effectiveness.
Two prior sorties have put the two test vehicles in space for months on undisclosed missions.
The X-37 is a program run by the Rapid Capabilities Office.
F-15E Crash Blamed on Engine Malfunction
The Air Force has reportedly concluded the May 2012 loss of an F-15E in “Southwest Asia” was due to an engine malfunction.
The right engine caught on fire due to a “rare ignition of the titanium components within the engine,” according to the investigation, which was released by Air Combat Command on Wednesday. Investigators could not determine what sparked the fire.
Both crewmembers successfully ejected.
US Troops Still Flying over Iraq
While most think the US military is out of the Iraq business, a recent DoD article serves as a reminder that there are still US troops there:
Air Force Lt. Col. Chris Lachance is one of a handful of American airmen working to ensure that Iraqi Air force units at Al Sahra Airfield in Tikrit are getting the level of training they need to protect their skies.
The Iraqis are flying T-6s, the same aircraft the US Air Force and Navy use for pilot training. The article says 3 Airmen are advising “more than 800 civilian contracted instructors and fresh Iraqi airmen.”
US Military has a Drinking Problem, Army Frat Party Goes Bad
Update: Major Garbarino was convicted at court-martial of being drunk and disorderly and received 30 days and a fine of six months pay. He was acquitted of other charges.
The Associated Press announced that the National Academy of Sciences has called ‘substance abuse’ within the US military a “public health crisis.” Among other things:
The study…says about 20 percent of active duty service members reported they drank heavily in 2008, the last year for which data is available. And, binge-drinking rose to 47 percent in 2008 from 35 percent in 1998.
The report also cited abuse of prescription drugs — particularly prescription pain killers and similar drugs, the use of which has skyrocketed to “nearly 5 million prescriptions” over the 1 million issued more than a decade ago.
The issue of drinking, of course, is nothing new. Just rent Read more
Win an Olympic Gold Medal. Get a Ride in a Fighter Jet.
Olympic gold medalist in soccer Abby Wambach recently received a flight in an F-15 Eagle, courtesy of the Air National Guard in Montana.
“She was in the back seat, flying with Lt. Col. Larry Gardner, and she got to see some of the physical demands it takes to be a fighter pilot,” [Maj Cody] Smith said.
She also spoke to troops on diversity, encouragement, and “empowerment of women in the military.”
US Air Force Turns 65 Years Old
September 18th is the 65th anniversary of the founding of the US Air Force, as it separated from the Army, where it was the US Army Air Forces, and became its own service.
From the signing of the National Security Act of 1947, to the F-117 Nighthawk launching in 1981 and the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles of today, the Air Force has seen Read more
US Fighter Aircraft Destroyed in Afghan Raid
Afghan insurgents dressed in US Army uniforms broke the lines at Camp Bastion/Camp Leatherneck and managed to destroy 6 US Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and damage an additional 2.
They’ve never managed to shoot one down, but they became a (ground) ace in a day.
The attack killed two Marines and wounded nine coalition forces, with 14 militants killed and one captured.