Tag Archives: Fighter Pilot

Book Review: The Oranges are Sweet

Paul M. Sailer
Loden Books, 2011

The Oranges are Sweet is the story of US Army Air Corps Major Don Beerbower, the leading – though seemingly little known – ace of the 9th Air Forces in the European Theater in 1944. The book describes his upbringing in a small Minnesota town to his decision to enlist as an Aviation Cadet in January 1942, even though he probably could have obtained a deferment due to his family business. Beerbower wanted to be a military pilot, and he began his flying career in February 1942.

The early portion of the book traces his journey through the PT-17 Stearman, BT-13 Valiant, AT-6 Texan, and P-36 Hawk until he became an Army pilot and 2nd Lt on 29 September 1942 – the same day he became a husband. He would go on to fly the P-39 Airacobra, bouncing around the western United States as he trained and became an experienced leader, as well as flying in West Coast defense.

He finally arrived in England in November 1943, joining the 353rd Fighter Squadron as the first fighter group to fly P-51B Mustang.

Less than a year later, in July 1944 the 22-year-old Beerbower was Read more

Bird Strike Responsible for T-38 Crash in July

The Air Force has reported that a T-38 that crashed in July near Sheppard Air Force Base was brought down by a bird that shattered the canopy and took out an engine:

Sheppard officials said Tuesday the bird struck the jet’s canopy, shattering it and sending fragments into an engine that then failed.

The incident was compounded by the pilots’ attempts to execute a turn that increased drag. The jet lost airspeed, then stalled.

The crew safely ejected.

The Air Force recently began researching the possibility of updating the canopies on the 50+ year old T-38 fleet. Their T-X replacement trainers have reportedly been held up by government budget issues.

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Air Force Chief of Staff Calls out Leadership

Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh previously told Airmen to stop following guidance that was “stupid.”

“If it doesn’t make common sense, if it doesn’t make the mission better, if it doesn’t take better care of our people, then just don’t do it and tell your boss you’re done.”

Notably, his message was to Air Force leaders, explicitly telling them their people “don’t feel empowered” even to do what seems smart.

General Welsh recently hammered the point again, this time making the parental statement that Airmen should use “common sense:”

Common sense would dictate that if Airmen run across something in their duties that doesn’t make sense, then they should suggest better ways to do them, Welsh said…”If it doesn’t match common sense then I don’t care what it says in the AFI, let’s talk about it.”

There is enough to do, the general said, without Read more

USAFA Seniors Learn their Fates

Cadets in the US Air Force Academy Class of 2014 were notified of their career fields on Wednesday.

Most notably, of the 1,011 cadets, 456 were selected to become pilots. (That’s 45% for those who grimace at math in public, which is slightly less than 2011.)  41 will become “cyberspace operators,” and 9 will go on to RPAs (and 4 will become “special agents” for OSI). From the official release, the rest of the list follows:  Read more

Congressman Bridenstine on Military Religious Freedom

Congressman Jim Bridenstine (R-Ok), on the recent controversies regarding “So Help Me God” at the US Air Force Academy:

“As a Navy pilot with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, I know firsthand the importance of faith to many of our service members.  When the services are hostile to faith, they are hostile to their members.  The Military Religious Freedom Coalition continues to identify instances whereby our men and women in uniform are forced to conceal or deny their deeply held religious beliefs.”

More from Congressman Bridenstine’s statement.

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Senators Call for Fighter Pilot Ejection Seat Review

Senators Mark Udall (D-Co) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo) have proposed an amendment to the yet-to-be-approved 2014 National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Air Force to review safety for its ejection seats:

Under the amendment, the Air Force also must analyze how ejection seats protect the head, neck and spinal cord during ejection; analyze any initiatives currently looking at making the ejection process safer; and update Congress on the status of any testing or qualifications on upgraded ejection seats.

The article notes Read more

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