 |
|
Lt. Col. Mike Brill with the Air Force's first F-16 5,000 flying-hour patch. Brill, a reservist at Hill Air Force Base, has more flying hours in the F-16 than another other pilot in the world. He eclipsed the historic mark following a combat training mission on the Utah Test and Training Range.
|
11/22/02 - HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFPN) — A piece of history was carved out Nov. 22 when four F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 419th Fighter Wing here took off on a combat training mission. While four F-16s on a routine training mission is not necessarily historic, one of the pilots, Lt. Col. Michael Brill, earned his place in the record books during the sortie. Brill became the first pilot in the world to log 5,000 flying hours in the F-16 aircraft.
"I've been fortunate," said Brill. "The fact that I've been able to stay in the cockpit this long really is a case of being in the right place at the right time."
Brill's 5,000 hours in the F-16 is the equivalent of traveling 1,750,000 miles--enough to circle the earth 70 times. The Virginia native surpassed previous thousand-hour milestones in the F-16 in 1985, 1988, and 1993. He was also the first pilot to amass more than 4,000 total flying hours in the F-16 in August 1998.
"It's an extremely durable aircraft with a proven track record in combat operations," said Brill. "Its reliability is a real testament to the quality product Lockheed Martin has provided the Air Force. At the same time, our own maintainers take incredibly good care of the aircraft. "
The planned mission for the milestone sortie included training in high-altitude delivery of laser guided bombs. Such training has prepared him for numerous combat missions during his career. Brill's combat experience includes three tours for Operation Northern Watch, two for Operation Southern Watch and one for Operation Enduring Freedom. He has accumulated 122 combat flight hours in those operations.
"I would rather be flying the F-16 than any other aircraft in the world," said Brill. "I like flying a single seat, single-engine airplane. I like the mission that we've got. I like being a jack-of-all-trades and a master of a few. If I had to choose between the F-16 and one of the other platforms in the inventory, I would opt for the (F-16) hands down."
Brill, a full-time reservist, currently serves as the operations officer for the wing's 466th Fighter Squadron. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in May 1979 and completed undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas in June of the following year. He has been flying the F-16 since November 1980 when he was a member of the 388th FW here.
"The best part is the F-16 continues to get significantly better with each upgrade," he added. "This aircraft has exceeded everyone's high expectations
|
