While I understand the Air Guard pilots do have to run drills and stay practiced and trained, over the past couple of months it has been EVERYDAY! Last Sunday I was doing some lawn work in the late morning and I had to listen to the jets roar. Really? I would be curious why they need to run these drills everyday and fly so low over Sioux Falls. Are we preparing for war or some other mission? Or are we just blowing taxpayer money when most of these drills could be done on simulators? I would think if you are an experienced pilot, you don’t need to be running drills everyday.
While we are now committed to building nuclear subs for the Australians to protect them against a Chinese buildup in the Pacific. Here at home, our jets are being used to protect a communist pork plant.
( and Woodstock adds: “Ya, and the French are really mad about this sub deal, too”…. “I heard, that in protest, they are going to rename American Pizza: ‘Lafayette Pizza'”… )
Well Scott, as much as you want to be in the know on most subjects, you should learn when UTA weekends are and with that, there will be aircraft flying. They usually fly low when landing or doing touch and go practice. They must practice night flying as well. Not all things can be taught in a simulator. Anyone who has served knows this. This unit is rated the best in the U.S.A. I’m glad they are located here and enjoy watching them fly.
I noticed too and suspect there was a readiness in case leaving Afghanistan erupted. Sioux Falls is a longer runway for training. The air guard got a few of the new fighters that need testing. There’s fewer commercial flights and more practice time than other cities. National Guard functions here add to city commerce.
I’m amazed at all the things Scott is an expert on. He’s almost as knowledgeable as Mike Z.
Read the post, I said I understand they have to do drills, I’m just questioning the frequency. While the base does contribute to our economy and we are the best in the nation, it also makes SF a big target by our enemies.
I believe the USAF has spent considerable money on simulators. For example the game Falcon was the unclassified version from the 80’s. The problem is that it is expensive and difficult to make simulators which give the right G-force experience and inner ear development.
It is the end of the fiscal year so any unused allocations have to be used up or budgets are reduced for next year. Waste Not Lose Budget.
Some Top Gun units are practicing the difficult maneuver of being certain the fighter is off the ground before raising the wheels. It is a tough concept to teach because it does not look cool.
The Chinese are too pork dependent to ever attack us. That’s the brilliance of our local pro commie business strategy. Sioux Falls is like the Vatican, or Paris during the western front invasion. They won’t touch us. Plus, now with Chick-fil-A in town, we’re priceless. Sioux City, not so much. The Neville Chamberlain in us, however, could cause us to use Taupeville as a bargaining chip. If needed.
War with China is coming.
If we preemptively invade China from the rear, would Greece help?
The frequency is due to the amount of pilots as well as the required hours that they must have each month. Adding in new flight equipment will also increase the time they need to be in the air. And as BeanCounter touched on, Oct means end of year for the military so need to use up what budget they need to as the Govt deals in “use it or lose it” instead of smartly allowing funds to rollover.