USAF seriously scaling back air show flying performances...

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9U8R1RG0.htm

April 20, 2012, 2:54PM ET

Air Force cuts back on air show demonstrations

The Air Force says it is scaling back its participation in dozens of air shows this year in an effort to cut costs and ensure its combat pilots are getting the training hours they need in a time of shrinking budgets.

The cutbacks won't affect the service's premier demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, but will mean fewer fighter planes performing for scores of crowds around the country.

Officials at Air Combat Command eliminated the solo performances of five of its crews based in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Utah.

Eliminating solo performances by the A-10, which provides air support for ground forces, and the F-16 and F-15E, which are capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat,
is expected to save the Air Force $15.5 million and allow about 970 training flights that otherwise would have been canceled.

The cost savings include fuel and travel costs for the pilots and their maintenance crews, among other things.
It's unclear if the teams will perform again next year.

"The goal of the commander of Air Combat Command is to maintain mission ready pilots, and in order to do that we had to cut some money.

And being able to save 900 some odd sorties -- that's quite a few pilots that we can maintain," said Lt. Col. Mike Brazelton, branch chief of Air Combat Command's aerial events staff.

The only combat plane that will conduct solo performances this year is the F-22 Raptor, which is based at Air Combat Command's headquarters at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va.

The past two years, jets assigned to Air Combat Command Aerial Events performed at 131 air shows each year.
That includes a heritage program where modern fighter planes such as the A-10 and F-16 fly alongside vintage jets flown by civilians in aircraft such as the World War II-era P-51 Mustang.

This year, Air Combat Command plans to only send its jets to 61 shows, which includes those performing in the heritage program.
The F-22 was scheduled to fly at 20 of those shows.

In a statement, Air Combat Command officials said eliminating the solo demonstrations would result in an increase of more than 25 combat-ready fighter pilots.

Although it's difficult to gauge exactly how many performances the other five teams would have participated in this year,
Air Force biographies show they range from 30 performances a year by an A-10C Thunderbolt pilot to 65 performances a year by the F-15E Strike Eagle Demo Team.

Those biographies say the teams performed for between 3 million and 7 million people each year.

The canceled demonstration teams are:
the F-15E Demonstration Team at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.;
the F-16 Demonstration Team East at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.;
F-16 Demonstration Team West at Hill Air Force Base, Utah;
A-10 Demonstration Team East at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.;
and the A-10 Demonstration Team West at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz.