F-15 pilots begin return to currency

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) --  Eagle drivers throughout the Air Force are starting down the long road to regaining their currency in the F-15, now that 60 percent of the A-D models have been cleared to fly.

All Air Force F-15 models stood down following the in-flight break up of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15 Nov. 2. The F-15E resumed flying earlier than other models because it is a newer airframe.

Less experienced pilots are required to land an F-15 once every 30 days just to fly the aircraft and must maintain demanding-sortie currency with training missions such as basic fighter maneuvers every 20 days in order to fly more complex missions. More experienced pilots are required to land once every 45 days to maintain landing currency.

"We have a lot of currencies governed by the regulations that keep us at the optimum level of training to be prepared to fight wars and do the mission the F-15 is supposed to do," said Maj. Ryan Krietsch, Air Combat Command Air and Space Operations Division F-15 functional area manager. "The landing currency and the demanding-sortie currency are the most important ... and as we continue to fly, we'll update the other currencies."

F-15 units will embark on squadron commander-directed programs designed to get the fighter squadrons combat-ready quickly without sacrificing safety. The trick, said Col. William Wignall, 1st Operations Group deputy commander, is to balance the need for safety with the defense of the nation through air sovereignty missions such as Operation Noble Eagle.

"We have an obligation to provide air sovereignty missions for the United States," Colonel Wignall said. "So our priorities are balanced between getting the whole squadron qualified or getting enough qualified to perform those air sovereignty missions. That's a balance the leadership is going through right now. We need to get at least a core number of people who are ready to support ONE operations; but at the same time build up some of our young guys to pick up that operation later on."

Major Krietsch said F-15 units will regain their currencies step by step.

"We'll take a small group of highly experienced instructor pilots, pilots who haven't yet lost their landing currency, and they will start to fly with the other pilots in the squadron and get them back to landing currency," he said.

The key, Major Krietsch said, is to get the instructor pilots current first, who can then sign off the less experienced pilots by either sitting in the back seat of an F-15D or simply flying on their wing in another aircraft.

"They will concentrate on requalifying the instructor pilots [on] landing," he said. "Then they'll go to the supervisors and then the most experienced guys in the squadron. It's a walk-before-you-run approach that will get everyone spun back up and ready to fly again and get us back to the operational readiness status we were at before the stand-down."

Colonel Wignall said getting the more experienced pilots qualified first will cause a trickle-down effect that will get the younger pilots current again faster.

"We're going to go out and do advanced handling, feel how the airplane feels; stick and rudder, power, know what's going on with the airplane. Then we're going to building-block approach to the next level which is basic fighter maneuvers."

F-15 wings around the world started flying as soon as the planes and pilots were ready Jan. 9. Lt. Col. Robert Garland, 71st Fighter Squadron commander, led the first F-15 sortie in Air Combat Command since the stand-down was lifted. He said he was eager to get back in the air.

"The Eagle's been tied to the cage for a little while," Colonel Garland said. "It's time to go out and get back to business. One of the things we're concerned with now that we're back in the air is getting our proficiency back as quickly as possible," he said. "It's important to fly as much as you can every week and every month, from our young guys, our most inexperienced, to our old guys."

While F-15 pilots have filled their time on the ground with academics and simulator time, Colonel Garland said nothing can replace the value of flying (time was used three times) when it comes to training.

"You hit a bunch of balls on the range, you spend a bunch of time in the batting cage, but at some time you have to get back on the field," he said. "So we've trained and prepared for that with good simulator use, with good academic preparation and a lot of good gym time focusing on physical fitness. But now it's time to step up to the plate and get back in the game."

After waiting to get back into the "game," F-15 pilots are ready to "play," said Major Krietsch.

"It's been a tough two months for F-15 pilots, and we've been eagerly awaiting the return-to-fly order," he said. "We can't wait to get back in the air, start getting ourselves operationally ready again and do the mission the Air Force needs us to do to protect the United States of America."