No more F-16's/Happy Hooligans
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Well the sky's gunna be a lot quieter now that there will be no more F-16's flying from the fargo airbase...I'll sorta miss them and having class stop for 1 minute every time they take off and fly over campus.
When Lt. Col. Brad Derrig launched his F-16 fighter jet into the skies over Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, he wasn’t sure what threats the nation faced, but he was ready for anything.
Looking down, he could see the Pentagon in flames but wouldn’t learn until later that a hijacked airliner had crashed into it.
“The hair stood up on the back of your neck,” Derrig said Tuesday, recalling his thoughts on the day that he and two other North Dakota Air National Guard pilots scrambled into the air to protect Washington from further attack.
Derrig and his fellow pilots, who at the time were part of an alert detachment stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Va., received the military’s prestigious Air Medal for their vigilance.
However, the F-16 Derrig flew that day, which began service with the Air National Guard in the 1980s, is now considered obsolete.
Lt. Col. Brad Derrig waves to the ground crew Tuesday from his F-16 as he prepares to leave for Tacoma, Wash. The fighter jet will be displayed as part of a Sept. 11 exhibit. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Lt. Col. Brad Derrig waves to the ground crew Tuesday from his F-16 as he prepares to leave for Tacoma, Wash. The fighter jet will be displayed as part of a Sept. 11 exhibit. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
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In-Forum Web Icon Brad Derrig takes off
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On Tuesday, Derrig took off from the Fargo base of the 119th Fighter Wing for a flight to Tacoma, Wash., where his F-16 will go on display as part of a Sept. 11 exhibit at the McChord Air Force Base Museum.“It’s kind of a historic moment,” Derrig said before taking off, hastening to add that any glory must be shared by the entire fighter wing, known collectively as the Happy Hooligans.
“It’s a neat thing for the unit,” said Derrig, whose mission, and that of the entire unit, will now shift from maintaining and flying fighters to operating C-21 transport planes and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles.
Many of the 119th Fighter Wing’s F-16s already have gone to a military “boneyard” near Tucson, Ariz., and most of the rest will soon follow.
Derrig’s plane is an exception, as it’s the jet flown by Maj. Dean Eckmann on Sept. 11.
That plane, tail number
82-926, will remain on permanent display at the Air National Guard base in Fargo.
The other Air Guard F-16 that was among the first responders to the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 is being used by a different Air National Guard unit for training.
Derrig said he will miss the rush of flying the F-16, which he likened to driving a Porsche sports car or Harley Davidson motorcycle.
He added, however, that the people who truly own such fighters are the crew chiefs who maintain them.
Tech. Sgt. Darby Plath, crew chief for Derrig’s plane, said Tuesday morning it was difficult to see the old war bird go.
“I’m gonna miss her,” he said, adding he was glad the plane found a home where it will be appreciated.
“It’s better than going down and sitting in a junk yard,” he said.
Lt. Col. Brad Derrig takes off from Fargo’s Hector International Airport on Tuesday to bring the F-16 to a Tacoma, Wash., museum dedicated to U.S. defense on Sept. 11, 2001. The plane was used to fly air defense over Washington, D.C., that day.
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With the maintenance those planes receive I bet they're in 100% tiptop shape and perfectly capable of doing whatever the pilots would need of them. They wouldn't have flown them this long if they weren't fully mission capable.
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StangerBanger96 wrote:
With the maintenance those planes receive I bet they're in 100% tiptop shape and perfectly capable of doing whatever the pilots would need of them. They wouldn't have flown them this long if they weren't fully mission capable.I am sure the new planes are much easier to work on and have quite less maintenance. Too bad fargo didnt get them.....btw your still gay.
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PSiedTSi wrote:
They have been using F-14s and 15s for how long tho?F14's = Naval Jet
F15's = Air Force
F16's = Happy HooligansAll the above are old jets though. Either way, replacing them with these unmanned drones is just gay, gayer than Brian even. To the pilots it'll probably be like trading in their Ferrari/Porsche for a Toyota minivan.
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StangerBanger96 wrote:
F14's = Naval Jet
F15's = Air Force
F16's = Happy HooligansAll the above are old jets though. Either way, replacing them with these unmanned drones is just gay, gayer than Brian even.
but not gayer than a bag of dicks to be clear here.....
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I love the Happy Hooligans and will miss the F-16's buzzing over with afterburner:)
Speaking of F-16's, I came across these scale models the other week. Powered by real turbine engines, operating landing gear, etc, the real deal. For a 1:8 scale they run about 5k when you are said and done. I want one badly;) Here is a video:
http://www.rcuvideos.com/view_video.php?viewkey=db07e7089f9b269c31f2
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99slowGSX wrote:
but not gayer than a bag of dicks to be clear here.....Maybe you should get your dick out of that bag then
We're derailing my own damn thread you bastard! -
StangerBanger96 wrote:
Maybe you should get your dick out of that bag then We're derailing my own damn thread you bastard!enuff girls
trading planes for rc planes is gay. Whoever decided that should get kicked in the nuts by eric cartman.
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91nbtsi wrote:
I love the Happy Hooligans and will miss the F-16's buzzing over with afterburner:)afterburner is just a pilots way of saying "I'm hitting CETV y0!!!!"
and my step-uncle is a happy hooligan. he's already had his last flight (it was more than a month ago since his last flight)...as soon as he started training on flying the drones, they didn't want him to fly an F-16 anymore...sad
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I grew up with my dad in the air force and i'm kinda partial to the jet noise. It will be missed. The f-16 was a bad ass jet.
Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car
Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall
Torque is how far you take the wall with you -
adog wrote:
Wow. I didn't realize those tankers were that old. You must be in competition with the B-52s for oldest plane in the inventory, then.Yeah, they're up there.
Most of our planes are held together with speed tape, dubble bubble and many many prayers, haha.
-Peter
1991 240SX
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