Released: March 11, 2003
British exchange pilot lives his dream
By Staff Sgt. Robert Zoellner
33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (ACCNS) -- A Royal Air Force pilot from Great Britain finally got the opportunity he's tried for 10 years to secure-to fly with American military pilots as part of the pilot-exchange program.
Sqdn. Ldr. (Maj.) Mark Chappell of the Royal Air Force's 56th Squadron, was assigned to the 60th Fighter Squadron in November 2002, after training with U.S. F-15 pilots at Tyndall AFB, Fla. There he learned how to fly the F-15 and how to fight both visually and in a long-range or beyond-visual-range environment.
The training was intense, he said.
The three-year exchange program allows pilots from other counties, such as Great Britain, to come to the U.S., switch places with U.S. military pilots, and train with different units.
Normally the pilot exchanges aren't common among squadron leader ranks; they're more for the captain ranks, Squadron Leader Chappell said. He wasn't sure he was ever going to get opportunity to come here.
"I couldn't believe it," he said. "It was cloud nine. I really couldn't believe I got the chance to come over here."
"When I got promoted (to squadron leader), I actually stopped putting down for an exchange," he said. "So, the first year I don't put it down, I get accepted."
He lives in the local community with his wife and two children and said he was the last in his family to completely adjust to the different climate. It's not quite the same as Peterborough in the United Kingdom, where he calls home.
"We've really enjoyed the facilities and the beach, and everything around here is great," he said.
As far as fitting in with the squadron, Lt. Col. Mark Lee, the 60th FS commander said Squadron Leader Chappell has been a tremendous asset to the squadron and has excelled far above all expectations.
While he's been here, he's completed his mission-qualification training with the 60th FS and is in flight-lead upgrade training for two-, three-, and four-ship formations. He has also recently returned from Weapons Systems Evaluation Training at Tyndall with the 60th FS where he fired the 20mm cannon and launched an AIM-7 Sparrow, which is similar to the Skyflash missile used on the F-3 Tornado he flies for the Royal Air Force.
"His enormous knowledge of the air-superiority mission has allowed him to become one of the 'Crows' in minimum time," Colonel Lee said. "He is highly respected by his supervision, peers, and subordinates. He is a true leader on the ground and in the air."
Squadron Leader Chappell's first mission was to protect the skies around the recent space shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in support of Operation Noble Eagle, Jan. 16.
"It was truly an awesome sight to watch the shuttle launch," he said. "That will probably go down as one of the most impressive things I've ever seen airborne. I thought I was pretty fortunate that the boss allowed me to go and do it."
He compared the F-15C Eagle to the F-3 Tornado as having similar concepts, but "the F-15 has more potential in every department." He said he's been impressed with the airplane.
Even though the U.S. and RAF aircraft have different potential, each country's military is very similar, he said.
"Really, it's uncanny how similar the military is except that yours is a lot bigger than ours. Issues within are exactly the same, just different accents," he said.
When Squadron Leader Chappell's pilot-exchange tour ends, he hopes his time in the seat of the F-15 will put him in the front line for the RAF's next procurement, the Euro fighter.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
