A recent ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point marked the beginning of the end of an era. The first EA-6B Prowler ever delivered to the US Marines retired on June 10 off this year:
In early 1977, the Marine Corps received its first EA-6B Prowler, tail number 160432 and marked with the number 000…[at] Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. Read more
An official news release features US Air Force Major Jaime Nordin and her attempts to balance her life as an F-16 fighter pilot and mother. While many people consider being a fighter pilot “who they are,” it seems Nordin is in transition:
“Being a mom and a fighter pilot are both equally demanding, which makes having only 24 hours in a day hard,” she said. “But more and more, I’m becoming a mom, and a fighter pilot is my trade.”
Everyone has priorities in life; having children can put a new perspective on things. For those that are curious, the article describes some of the details about female fighter pilots who get pregnant. Nordin was grounded Read more
The US Air Force Academy has purchased new training aircraft to replace those it has leased for more than a decade. USAFA has not purchased a training fleet since the ill-fated T-3A Firefly killed 3 cadets and 3 officers from 1995 to 1997.
The Cirrus T-53A is a single engine propeller driven aircraft and will be used in USAFA’s flight training program. The T-53 acquisition will run $6.1M for the fleet of 25. The local article also notes the aircraft is equipped with a whole-aircraft parachute.
The aircraft will be evaluated by test pilots from Edwards Air Force base before its use as a cadet trainer.
A Naval aviator reportedly ejected from his T-45 Goshawk in southern Texas. The T-45 normally carries two, but the pilot was flying solo.
As with every other mishap, the Navy will investigate and a report will be available some months from now.
A picture on the US military’s DoD Live website recently highlighted a fascinating, if often misconstrued, photo of flight:
The caption:
An F/A-18C Hornet…breaks the sound barrier Read more
An Air Force public affairs article described an officer’s deployment in support of mortuary affairs at Dover, a somber and honorable duty.
The article inadvertently touched on another historical tradition of the US Air Force (or, more accurately, the US Army Air Forces). The author published a photo of her grandfather with his A-20 Havoc in World War II:
A close up Read more
One question asked repeatedly is whether it’s better to go Air Force or Navy if one wants to fly or be a fighter pilot. The FAQ of this site answers this question (as well as many others), but there’s interesting and relevant information from the graduation of the class of 2011 that just occurred.
USNA:
Class Size: 1035
Pilot Training (incl. “Marine Air”): 305 (30%)
Naval Flight Officer: 75 (7%)
Like the Air Force, the US Navy pays its aviators a monetary bonus to encourage retention (though it doesn’t always work, as the Air Force acceptance rate showed).
This year, due to high retention levels, the Navy altered its bonus plan; as stated now, the only aviators who will get the previous years’ $25K bonus per year are F/A-18 Hornet pilots. All others will get a bonus specific to their airframe: Read more