F-16 Fighting Falcon News

April 23, 2003 (by Lieven Dewitte) - Fulfilling a decades-old dream, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra flew aboard an F-16 fighter jet on Wednesday, ignoring advice from doctors that the 30-minute journey in the supersonic jet may pose health risks for a man his age.
Thaksin, 53, sat in the navigator's seat of the Royal Thai Air Force jet, which took off from Bangkok to an air base in the northeastern town of Korat where Thaksin was to preside over an air show.

The planned flight was front-page news in Thailand, and drew public criticism from people who said a national leader shouldn't take unnecessary risks. A group went to the government headquarters on Tuesday with a petition urging Thaksin to cancel. Thaksin said on Wednesday that he felt confident about being on the plane, which is expected to touch a maximum speed of just below the speed of sound at Mach 0.85. It will reach an altitude of 4,572 meters and not perform any aerobatics. "I feel normal. My health is OK now. There shouldn't be a problem with my ear. At the time when my ear got infected I was flying a lot. At that time my health was weak," he said.

The air force has insisted the flight will not mean extra costs since the plane was going to the air show anyway. A routine flight costs an estimated $3,800. A flight suit and helmet for the prime minister would cost another $715.