Photo: USAF/Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
At the beginning of March, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona was the place where an event of epic proportions took place. It’s called the 2022 Heritage Flight Training Course, an event meant to train the four Aerial Combat Command (ACC) “single-ship demonstration teams for their upcoming air show season.”
The four ACC demo teams are flying the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-16 Viper, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, and all were on site at the base about a month ago, but they were not alone: the planes of the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation were there as well, to show their worth.
That means aircraft that was used in combat decades ago, in the days of the Second World War and the Korean War, including one of the most iconic fighters ever made, the P-51 Mustang, got to fly alongside some of the most modern flying weapons platforms.
Instances of Raptors, Vipers, Lightnings and Thunderbolts flying alongside Mustangs in the skies over America are not rare, as you can see them at a number of events each year. But one rarely gets to watch them train for their incredible stunts, as we can see in the attached gallery.
“During the course, aircrew practice ground and flight training to enable civilian pilots of historic military aircraft and U.S. Air Force pilots of current fighter aircraft to fly safely in formations together,” says the USAF about the training that took place at the beginning of the month. “The HFTC is also intended to certify airshow pilots for the upcoming airshow season.”
For 2022, the combos of modern and vintage machines can be seen starting this weekend, at the Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, where the F-16 will fly alongside the Mustang. After that, each month brings its share of events, which will all end in Stuart, Florida.
That means aircraft that was used in combat decades ago, in the days of the Second World War and the Korean War, including one of the most iconic fighters ever made, the P-51 Mustang, got to fly alongside some of the most modern flying weapons platforms.
Instances of Raptors, Vipers, Lightnings and Thunderbolts flying alongside Mustangs in the skies over America are not rare, as you can see them at a number of events each year. But one rarely gets to watch them train for their incredible stunts, as we can see in the attached gallery.
“During the course, aircrew practice ground and flight training to enable civilian pilots of historic military aircraft and U.S. Air Force pilots of current fighter aircraft to fly safely in formations together,” says the USAF about the training that took place at the beginning of the month. “The HFTC is also intended to certify airshow pilots for the upcoming airshow season.”
For 2022, the combos of modern and vintage machines can be seen starting this weekend, at the Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, where the F-16 will fly alongside the Mustang. After that, each month brings its share of events, which will all end in Stuart, Florida.
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