Tag Archives: Fighter Pilot

Doolittle Raiders Announce Final Reunion

The Doolittle Raiders — the 80 men who made the daring Tokyo raid that inspired a nation — have had an annual reunion for the past 67 years.  At each one, they have toasted their comrades who have passed the prior year and ceremoniously turned their goblets over.  The plan was that the final two Raiders would open and drink a cognac bottled the year their then-leader, Jimmy Doolittle, was born.

There are five remaining Raiders, four of whom are “active.”  All are well into their 90s.

The Doolittle Raiders have decided to make 2013 their last reunion, and they will open the bottle this year.

For their final reunion, they will return Read more

Aviano Based US Air Force F-16 Lost off Italian Coast

The US Air Force reported it lost contact with an Aviano Air Base assigned F-16 Monday night:

The aircraft, assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing, was performing a training mission over the Adriatic Sea when the base lost contact with the pilot at approximately 8 p.m…

While the aircraft has not yet been found, search teams are working under the assumption that the aircraft crashed in the Adriatic.

The F-16 was reportedly working with a four-ship in poor weather night conditions, and made a radio call about a problem before losing contact.

Our prayers are with the pilot and family.

ADVERTISEMENT

C-17 Landing at Wrong Airport Blamed on Fatigue

Update: The Stars and Stripes reports on the corrective actions put in place to prevent future aircraft from misidentifying the runways.

The Tampa Tribune obtained the report of last July’s “unscheduled landing” of a C-17 at Peter O. Knight airport in Florida — when it was supposed to land at MacDill Air Force Base a few miles away.

The crew of a military cargo jet landed at the wrong airport in Tampa in July, in part, because of fatigue, complacency and a lack of flight discipline, an Air Force investigation has found.

Fortunately, the crew realized their error and were able to Read more

Army Pilot Saves Stuffed Dragon in Combat Crash

An official Army article about a helicopter downed in Afghanistan covers the work of the crew to survive as their chopper falls.  In retelling the story, the article contains this tidbit about the immediate aftermath of the crash in hostile territory:

Before [Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mike] McGann grabbed his weapon, he’d made sure he had one other “sensitive item” — a stuffed dragon that his 4-year-old daughter, Hope, had sent him.

“It flies with me all the time; it usually sits right on the console,” McGann said. “Before I grabbed my weapon, and before I did anything else, I grabbed (the dragon) and stuffed it under my armor.”

Apparently, some Army pilots are softies. 

Nice work, Dad.  That’s enough to make every father proud.

ADVERTISEMENT

Maxim Magazine Tightens Aim at Military Audience

In an interesting bit of timing, given the Air Force Chief of Staff’s recent health and welfare inspection, Maxim magazine was covered by the New York Times in a story highlighting its ubiquity within the military.

Why?  Basically, troops can’t get racy magazines like Playboy or Penthouse shipped to the war zone overseas — but Maxim, while it may skirt the line, doesn’t cross it:

Maxim, a testosterone-fueled magazine featuring adolescent humor and plenty of scantily clad actresses, has become for today’s Army what Esquire was to soldiers fighting in World War II and Playboy was during the Vietnam War…

The sale of “explicit” magazines on military bases comes up in the news every few years.  At one point, Lifeway publishers was attempting to create a Christian alternative to the popular magazines.  For now, the rules actually “benefit” Maxim:  Read more

Top 10 ChristianFighterPilot.com Stories for 2012

It’s the time of year for lists and summaries, and various sites and groups are compiling their “best of” and “mostest” lists for 2012.  Consistent with last year’s apparent trend, issues of religion and the military seem to have largely fallen from the visibility they once had.  For example, BJC online lists their “Top Religious Stories of 2012” — not one of which references the military.  Likewise the Christian Post.  The Religion Clause and the Stars and Stripes lists both made only one relevant reference, to the much delayed Fort Hood massacre trial.

Curious as to what others were reading here this year?  The Top 10 most-read stories on ChristianFighterPilot.com for 2012 are Read more

National Guard F-16 Crashes in California

Multiple news outlets reported a California Air National F-16 crashed in the California desert on Friday.

No details were given, except that it was a medium altitude emergency and the pilot safely ejected.

The F-16 military jet went down in Owens Valley in Inyo County. The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft.

Pilots at the 144th Fighter Wing are on what’s called a “safety stand down” day, meaning all flights are grounded as part of standard procedure following a crash.

As is standard procedure, the Air Force will investigate the mishap and report it some months from now.

1 … 28 29 30 31 32 … 63