PACAF F-16 demo team ready for takeoff

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alyssa C. Wallace
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  The Air Force's only single-ship F-16 Fighting Falcon demo team is recertified and cleared for takeoff.

The team lost its certification after being grounded in March due to budget constraints; but when funds became available in fiscal year 2014, the team began practicing again. After nine practice flights and a green light from the 35th Fighter Wing commander, the team - made up of one pilot, four safety officers and eight maintainers - was ready to hit the skies.

Although they went eight months without practicing the show, the team members' primary duties helped keep their skills well-tuned.

"That's what's different about our demo program here, it's an additional duty, not our primary duty," said Capt. Ryan Worrell, 35th Operational Support Squadron F-16 demo team pilot. "My primary duty is to be a combat ready F-16 pilot, practice Suppression of Enemy Air Defense missions, and then my additional duty is to perform air shows one to two weekends a month."

This small team is unique in more ways than one. While stateside demo teams are usually used as recruiting tools, the PACAF F-16 demo team serves as an effective engagement tool and reinforces American ties in countries across the Pacific.

"We're really one of a kind," said Staff Sgt. Patrick Logsdon, demo team maintainer and avionics technician with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. "If you take into consideration how few people even join the military, and then there are only eight people in the Air Force who do what we do - when you think about it statistically, it's mind-blowing. I'm blessed to have this opportunity."

They accomplish their mission by showing support of the nation's government and by interacting with the locals who frequent the air shows.

"It's really amazing," Logsdon said. "For a stranger to come up to me and trust me enough to hold their child and ask me to take a picture with them, it's a big deal, and kind of shocking. For them to just completely welcome us and root for us, it's a huge deal."

The demonstration begins with a ground show by the maintainers, who display strict military bearing while preparing the pilot for takeoff. After the jet hits the skies, Worrell flies between speeds of 120 to 600 miles per hour, at an altitude as low as 300 feet, while maneuvering triple aileron rolls, fast passes and high-g turns over the audience.

"It's a very complicated flying routine; it requires practice to be able to fly safely at low altitudes," Worrell said. "The show doesn't necessarily show off capabilities as far as weapons or avionics, it instead highlights the phenomenal maneuverability and power of the Block 50 F-16. It's an honor to have the opportunity to represent PACAF."