Forum: General

Combining work with pleasure

By Gary Emerling
May 17, 2008

There are aerial stunts, and then there is combat.

Maj. John Klatt of the Minnesota Air National Guard takes both to the limit — taking similar risks and drawing similar lessons from each.

An F-16 fighter pilot in his day job — with two combat tours in Iraq under his belt and a third coming up — Maj. Klatt will take his acrobatics to the air in a Staudacher S-300D in this weekend's 2008 Joint Services Open House Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Both are lightweight planes in their classes with eye-popping maneuverability, and flying them requires intense concentration and mental toughness — but that's where the similarities end.

The F-16 is a dogfighting jet with 27,000 pounds of thrust capable of flying twice the speed of sound at high altitude. It was the first fighter aircraft built to sustain 9-g turns. (G-force is a measure of an object's acceleration — a typical cough registers 3.5 g.) The F-16 packs a M61 Vulcan cannon and two Sidewinder missiles and has a maximum takeoff weight of 37,500 pounds.

The Staudacher, a single-engine propeller-driven plane built by Jon Staudacher for competition in unlimited class aerobatics, features tubular and wood construction, weighs 1,250 pounds, and has a top speed of 250 mph.

Maj. Klatt, a Minnesota native, is ranked among the top 10 U.S. pilots in unlimited class aerobatics. He is an aerial ace who places himself in peril with every torque roll, hammerhead or other gravity-defying maneuver he pulls off thousands of feet above the ground.

But while the 41-year-old father of two says he takes both his stunts and military stints seriously, he stresses that the latter carries a potentially heavier price.

"One is for entertainment, and the other is obviously mission-oriented," Maj. Klatt said. "When you're flying with the Guard in wartime, there are lives on the line."

Shortly before Christmas, Maj. Klatt's will be sent on a third tour in Iraq as part of the 148th Fighter Wing out of Duluth, Minn.

The double-duty danger can take a toll on his family, he says, but the lessons he learns flying air shows and F-16s reinforce each other.

"They're both pretty rigorous," he said. "They both require that you pay attention to fitness and staying awake and doing the right thing."

Maj. Klatt's fascination with flying began when he was a child, when his father, an aircraft mechanic, took him to air shows.

Some 16-year-olds get cars for their birthdays. But Maj. Klatt's father staked him the first $600 toward obtaining a private pilot's license. He later washed and fueled airplanes to earn enough money for flying lessons.

Maj. Klatt got his commission and joined the Guard in 1989, and within a year was flying huge C-130 military transports during Operation Desert Storm. He has since logged more than 2,000 combat hours over Iraq at the helm of an F-16.

There are currently 3,054 Air National Guard members deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, out of 106,105 servicemen total. The military branch is about 595 members below its authorized level, and Maj. Klatt sees his air show performances as part entertainment, part recruiting tool.

"Being in the Guard, there are a lot of people who have made a lot of sacrifices," he said. "My hat's off to all the families and young men and women who are deployed for long periods of time to make sure we can live our lives in freedom."

Capt. Audra Flanagan, a spokeswoman for the 148th Fighter Wing, said the pilot is admired by his peers and the public as a "talented aviator" and "consistently positive role model."

"He was often referring kids who expressed interest in aviation industries to the guard," Capt. Flanagan said. "Doing air shows is a fun way to do it. A lecture scenario is not a fun way to do it."

Maj. Klatt is scheduled to perform today and tomorrow at the Joint Services air show — a spectacle that will include the Navy Blue Angels, the Army Golden Knights and plenty of butterflies even for the seasoned pilot and performer.

"I get nervous every time I go flying in an air show, because it's a very dynamic environment," Maj. Klatt said. "You have to be very focused on the task at hand."

The event opened yesterday but continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow. Unauthorized vehicles are not allowed at Andrews Air Force Base, but visitors can park at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., and take shuttle buses to the show. Shuttle buses will also run from the Branch Avenue Metro station on the Green Line in Suitland.

Source:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbc ... /953419319

Are the Bulldawgs still in the fighter bizness? I thought they were BRAC'ed or close to being BRAC'ed.