Category Archives: Fighter Pilot

Fighter Pilots in Afghanistan Contradict Commander-in-Chief

As of January, President Barack Obama declared that combat in Afghanistan was over.

A unit of F-16 fighter pilots at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan was recently quoted as saying they’re basically doing the same thing they were last year — combat.

Pilots from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 421st Fighter Squadron are still flying round-the-clock patrols, and they are still dropping bombs on the enemy. The airstrikes, which reached a 10-month high in October — are seen as vital to stopping insurgents from overrunning vulnerable areas around Read more

Liberty University Aids Concealed Carry, and so does Dyess AFB

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr made a lot of news over the weekend after his Friday speech advocating that his students carry concealed weapons.

“I’ve always thought if more good people had concealed carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in,” Falwell said.

He told the Associated Press on Saturday he was specifically referring to Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the couple who shot and killed 14 people during a holiday party in a Southern California office building on Wednesday.

Much less attention was given to Dyess Air Force Base, near Abilene, Texas. According to a statement from the base, for the first time in decades, US troops will be able to keep their concealed weapons when they enter the base [emphasis added]:  Read more

Holloman AFB F-16 Crashes

Last Wednesday, a fledgling F-16 pilot had reason to be thankful when he successfully ejected during a training mission out of Holloman AFB, New Mexico:

“The pilot successfully ejected and was transported to a local medical facility,” Holloman Director of Media Relations Arlan Ponder said. “He was part of a training mission…”

The First Lieutenant was likely an upgrading student, as the squadron at Holloman actually belongs to the primary F-16 training unit at Luke AFB, Arizona.

As is the normal routine, the Air Force will investigate the incident and report on it some months from now.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cleared Hot: Court Rules Flights Suits back in Style

A state appeals court has overturned a lower court and ruled that military flight suits cannot be trademarked:

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Atlanta-based Afterburner Inc. could not stop others from using a “military aviation-themed approach to business consulting” or wearing flight suits and using fighter jet imagery in such presentations.

The suit started when employees broke off from Afterburner Inc. and started their own company. A trial court had ruled in favor of Afterburner, but the appeals court reversed it: Read more

Fighter Pilot Followed Rules, but Must Defend his Wings

In January, a US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet flew over Berkeley, California, creating smiles, a news story, and setting off a few car alarms.

The Navy “investigated” and determined the pilot (“naval aviator”) violated no rules. In fact, he was under FAA control at the time, and Air Traffic Control approved his altitude and flight path.

Yet the pilot will still have to defend his wings and flying career:  Read more

US Fighter Pilots in the Battle of Britain

As the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain was celebrated this month, Nellis AFB’s Public Affairs published a synopsis of the American involvement in history’s most important air war — which occurred even before the United States entered the war:

As the storm clouds of World War II gathered in 1939, the Royal Air Force had expanded quickly… Among these pilots numbered three Americans, all long time dual citizens and UK residents; James W.E. Davies, Carl R. Davis and Cyril D. Palmer…

Soon Canada started training volunteer Americans and shipping them to Britain:  Read more

1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 104