Aviation Specials - July 2018

T

HE TEMPERATURE IS 110

degrees as the sun beats down

on the dazzling bleached

concrete. In the distance, two

small  ghters with canopies

cranked open roll into view

above the shimmering heat haze. In

seconds they have passed, with a brief

wave from their pilots who are ‘in the

zone’ and focused on the task ahead.

Within minutes of being airborne, this

section of F-5N Tigers IIs will be down

among the desolate desert mountains,

giving a US Navy  eet Super Hornet

pilot a real headache, presenting a

problem that needs to be solved. The

skilled F-5 pilots know what the young

Super Hornet pilot needs to take away

from this tussle; they’re providing a

service, a lesson in a  ghter pilot’s life

that may just save him or her one day.

‘Our squadron is all about customer

service,’ says LT Matt ‘Abe’ Gottschalk,

one of the 30 or so pilots at VFC-13

‘Fighting Saints’, based at NAS Fallon,

Nevada. ‘We are here to support  eet

squadrons through their Strike Fighter

Advanced Readiness Program [SFARP]

and Air Wing Fallon, plus NAWDC [Naval

Aviation War ghting Development

Center] including TOPGUN.’

VFC-13 ‘Fighting Saints’ fl y the F-5 Tiger II in the adversary

role at NAS Fallon, Nevada. When it comes to daily

operations, it’s a unit that’s all about providing a service.

REPORT AND PHOTOS Jamie Hunter

A trio of

fabulous F-5Ns

from VFC-

13 over the

range complex

adjacent to NAS

Fallon, Nevada.

US NAVY & MARINE CORPS AIR POWER YEARBOOK 2018

(^58) UNIT REPORT
58-65 VFC-13 C.indd 58 01/06/2018 11:49