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F-16.net Editor Joined: Aug 23, 2003 Posts: 1766

<a href="f-16_pilots_num1111.html">Lt. Col. Jay Paulus</a>, 301st Fighter Squadron commander, receives congratulations from Lt. Col. Jeffrey Lovelace, 63rd Fighter Squadron commander, and Lt. Col. John Wynne, 301st Fighter Squadron director of operations, after obtaining his <a href="f-16_pilots_flying-hours-4K.html">4,000th flying hour in the F-16</a> on Oct. 24. According to Lockheed-Martin statistics, Colonel Paulus is the 22nd Air Force F-16 pilot to achieve this status. Reserve instructor pilots in the 301st FS fly 56th Fighter Wing F-16s to train active-duty student pilots.

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Yes, I would love to spend 4000 + hours in an office like that hehehe Congrats to Lt. Col Palaus. Cheers! Oh BTW when you achieve a milestone like that besides the recognition and a few other formalities does a pilot recieves an "informal" recognition like a bath or something from his fellow pilots and crews? (being a Lt Col. or not hahaha)

Senior member Joined: Jul 01, 2007 Posts: 368

Nah, nothing like that. We have another reservist that just got Lt.Col. and is close to the 4000 hour mark. When he got Lt.Col. he bought everyone buffalo wings. Good stuff.

By the way, the one in the pic with his back turned is Lt.Col. Wynne. He is one of the best F-16 instructors in the world. I've seen him brief various flights in the B-Course with his student and tell the student how he is going to fly on that ride. Then they'll fly the ride and when they get back to the debrief he'll not only be correct about every mistake the student made, he'll also be able to draw lines for an 8v4 from memory. How's that for knowing your job! Salute

Elite 1K Joined: Apr 26, 2004 Posts: 1215 Status: Offline

Hey Snake how far short of 4000 are you?

Elite 2K Joined: Oct 20, 2005 Posts: 2103 Status: Offline

Thanks for documenting, Asif! Great job! Thumb

Senior member Joined: Jul 01, 2007 Posts: 368

It's gonna be a while purple.

Good going Lt Col Jay Paulus.

F-16.net Editor Joined: Aug 23, 2003 Posts: 1766

Another 4000 Hrs achiever Very Happy

<a href="f-16_pilots_num812.html">Col. Robert Polumbo</a>, 482nd Fighter Wing vice commander, is greeted by fire and emergency services personnel upon surpassing 4,000 F-16 flight hours on 13 November 2007. While many fighter pilots have completed 4,000 flying hours, only a handful of fighter pilots around the world have surpassed 4,000 in one airframe.

Col Polumbo call sign "Mumbles"
Super guy!
He had just made Major when he gave me a ride in the F-16.
Congratulations Colonel!

Elite 1K Joined: Apr 26, 2004 Posts: 1215 Status: Offline

Was he at Spang in the late 90's?

Purplehaze wrote:

Was he at Spang in the late 90's?

Not sure, I know he came in from an Active duty unit.

F-16.net Editor Joined: Sep 23, 2003 Posts: 2862

Congrats ! Nice touch with the fire trucks too. Great photo.

Cheers

JochemP wrote:

Yes, I would love to spend 4000 + hours in an office like that hehehe Congrats to Lt. Col Palaus. Cheers! Oh BTW when you achieve a milestone like that besides the recognition and a few other formalities does a pilot recieves an "informal" recognition like a bath or something from his fellow pilots and crews? (being a Lt Col. or not hahaha)

Congrats Col. Polumbo, some celebration like this was what I was talking about the reception with fire trucks.
Cheers.

F-16.net Editor Joined: Aug 23, 2003 Posts: 1766

Central Daily Times wrote:

F-16 pilot joins rare ranks in flight
Chris Rosenblum
Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008

Few know the F-16 fighter as well as Lt. Col. Dan Swayne.

A Bellwood native, Swayne recently became the second Air Force active-duty pilot and only the 23rd F-16 pilot overall, to surpass 4,000 hours in the jet — the equivalent of more than five months of flight time.

Stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, Swayne, 42, reached the milestone on a training sortie from Mississippi with the 107th Fighter Squadron.

Active-duty F-16 pilots typically log 2,000 to 2,500 flight hours in their careers, said Air Force spokeswoman Master Sgt. Tonya Keebaugh. Swayne’s accomplishment is unusual because pilots normally change types of planes or move behind a desk after promotions, Keebaugh said.

Swayne, a veteran of Desert Storm and Desert Shield, has flown F-16s from seven bases since 1988, a year after his graduation from the University of Pittsburgh.

“With all the flying assignments I’ve had, it’s not magic, it’s just math,” Swayne said in an Air Force release.

Swayne, married with three children, also credited his consistent good health for his record. Never during his career has a doctor deemed him unfit to fly.

For any Air Force fighter pilot, Swayne’s longevity is rare. According to Keebaugh, just two F-15 pilots and an estimated six A-10 pilots have flown 4,000 hours in their respective planes.

Source: http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/359589.html

Bit more detail from our viper pilot database: Lt.Col. Dan Swayne ("Pigpen")

Congrats to all these men. I truly respect those that reach these milestones in flight hours. For all their other responsibilities besides flying and to achieve these amount of hours shows they are doers and not pencil pushing experts.

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Another pilot reaches the golden 4000 hrs milestone