Wednesday, March 03, 2010

174FW Pilots to Fly Last Mission from Syracuse


Courtesy of JohnFB and from the WSYR-TV website:

The 174th Fighter Wing will conclude its F-16 operations on March 6, when the final two planes depart Hancock Field. (WSYR-TV) Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – Pilots from the 174th Fighter Wing fly the last two F-16s in Syracuse away during a ceremony this Saturday. This is the final step in the 174th’s transition to flying unmanned airplanes.

The 174th Fighter Wing will conclude its F-16 operations on March 6, when the final two planes depart Hancock Field. A formal ceremony will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday to commemorate that event.

The 174th Fighter Wing is switching to flying unmanned drones via remote controls. Near the end of last year the 174th began to fly the MQ-9 Reapers in Afghanistan through a satellite connection. Although the planes are deployed overseas, the pilots are here at Hancock Field.