Combat aircraft

the emergency procedures and how

to start the jet properly before we send

them across the street to one of the two

training squadrons where they spend an

additional six months,’ explains Taylor.

The training squadrons

The ‘walk across the street’ to the 333rd

and 334th Fighter Squadrons marks formal

entry into the FTUs. Each squadron holds

two courses per year with an average of

20-24 students per course, producing

about 80 prospective Strike Eagle aircrews

annually. A three-to-one student-to-

instructor ratio is used in the classroom

and a one-to-one ratio is utilized during

flying training missions.

Capt Tyler ‘Merge’ Blasdel is an instructor

pilot (IP) assigned to the ‘Fighting Eagles’,

having completed a tour on the front line.

‘Coming back here as an instructor pilot

you need to be qualified as a multi-ship

flight-lead and then you go through

a three-month course to learn how to

teach new pilots. It’s all about teaching

fundamentals and the basic blocking and

tackling of what it means to be a fighter

pilot or WSO — not only how to fly and

fight the jet, but also the attitude and

culture of being the best.’

‘The first seven or so missions are

about how to take off and land,’ explains

Blasdel. ‘We work in the local airspace

and out over the Atlantic. From there we

teach advanced handling characteristics

and how to max-perform the jet since

it’s designed to drop ordnance, so they

need to learn how to get into a position

to do just that. We fly both offensive and

defensive 1-v-1 air combat and then get

into the more advanced air-to-air tactics

before we start working basic surface

attack. Here we teach the students on how

to use the sensors to target the weapons

effectively.’

The two-crew mentality and approach

is considered key to the Strike Eagle’s

lethality. Blasdel says, ‘The pilot and WSO

each have responsibilities, and if they are

both in sync then they are an unstoppable

force. It all comes down to trust. The front-

seater is more concerned about the air-to-

air side, and the WSO is more focused on

the air-to-ground.’

Looking at things from the back seat,

Capt Dan ‘Boss’ Hermanski is an instructor

WSO at the ‘Lancers’. ‘Essentially you have

double the ability to talk to people and

listen to the radios and back each other

up. I’m primarily the guy talking to the

JTAC [Joint Terminal Attack Controller]

on the ground, co-ordinating attacks

and working the sensors, and then —

ultimately — transferring the co-ordinates

FEATURE ARTICLE | 4TH FIGHTER WING

http://www.combataircraft.net January 2018

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