Vietnam MIA's buried at Arlington... AF can't afford a flyover

[tankerbum]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/23/vietnam-era-fliers-buried-side-by-side-at-arlington/

Major James Sizemore and his navigator Major Howard Andre were found in Laos last year and were recently buried in Arlington. Unfortunately due to sequestration and being the end of the fiscal year the USAF said they couldn't provided a flyover.

Thankfully pilots from the non-profit Warrior Flight Team stepped in and provided not one but two flyovers the second in an A-26; the same plane Sizemore and Andre flew into Laos 44 years ago.

No one could come up with 4 hours to support this? I spent 30+ flight hours last week flying "medievac" missions for retired dudes with sprained ankles and psych patients. When did our priorities get so screwed up?

Edited September 24, 2013 by tankerbum

[pawnman]

https://www.foxnews.c...e-at-arlington/

Major James Sizemore and his navigator Major Howard Andre were found in Laos last year and were recently buried in Arlington. Unfortunately due to sequestration and being the end of the fiscal year the USAF said they couldn't provided a flyover.

Thankfully pilots from the non-profit Warrior Flight Team stepped in and provided not one but two flyovers the second in an A-26; the same plane Sizemore and Andre flew into Laos 44 years ago.

No one could come up with 4 hours to support this? I spent 30+ flight hours last week flying "medievac" missions for retired dudes with sprained ankles and psych patients. When did our priorities get so screwed up?

We're trying to piss people off about sequestration so that thy tell their congressmen to make it stop. Just like we can't support flyovers for a football game or NASCAR race, but we have the flight hours to do an hour-long IR route at 500' as part of a 7 hour sortie.

[Karl Hungus]

We're trying to piss people off about sequestration so that thy tell their congressmen to make it stop. Just like we can't support flyovers for a football game or NASCAR race, but we have the flight hours to do an hour-long IR route at 500' as part of a 7 hour sortie.

Best part is, it's not working.

[pawnman]

Best part is, it's not working.

Well, the public doesn't have a very long attention span. Once we started talking about defunding Obamacare and going to Syria, most of them probably thought sequestration was over.

[amcflyboy]

Exactly.

[JS]

Just like we can't support flyovers for a football game or NASCAR race, but we have the flight hours to do an hour-long IR route at 500' as part of a 7 hour sortie.

I was wondering that with the beginning of football season. Are all flyovers officially not allowed at any events?????

[DFRESH]

Flyover's couldn't be incorporated into current training missions? Flying an Op-sat mission where the TOT meant more than my make believe bombs hitting a make believe target... would be way more fun! Have red air orbit high and plug the rover into the jumbo tron so folks can watch the flyover from above, way sick!

[brabus]

Are all flyovers officially not allowed at any events?????

True statement...barring HAF approval (which won't happen).

Flyover's couldn't be incorporated into current training missions?

HAF won't even go for that. Simply because it involves a "display" in front of a crowd; never mind that you can do a completely normal training mission that just so happens to take you by a crowd, log a RAP square, etc. Full retard, it's what we do.

[raimius]

Heck, with proper planning and coordination with ATC an Arlington flyby could be done while expediting some local missions near DC.

The DC guard probably has some training to do west of DC. Any of the local helo units (Army, AF, or CG) could probably use Arlington as a shortcut to some training area.

Yeah, we sure like to shoot ourselves in the foot and claim it was the smart thing to do.

[Danny Noonin]

Heck, with proper planning and coordination with ATC an Arlington flyby could be done while expediting some local missions near DC.

The DC guard probably has some training to do west of DC. Any of the local helo units (Army, AF, or CG) could probably use Arlington as a shortcut to some training area.

Yeah, we sure like to shoot ourselves in the foot and claim it was the smart thing to do.

I know what you're saying, but that's a road they can't go down. There are tons of funerals every day at Arlington, many of whom were AF heroes in some way shape or form. If the DC guard started doing flybys for all of them simply because they are nearby, that's all they would ever do.

[gmwalk]

This is terrible. AF leadership should hide their faces in shame. They should have honored these men with a flyby. These men sacrificed everything for this country; they deserve better from AF leadership. Instead, leadership chose to honor money, budget, and politics. A complete disgrace.

[BolterKing]

It's all about perception. No one is willing to put their wang out and answer the question about how this or any flyover could be accomplished, regardless of whether it was part of a funded training sortie or not. Especially with demos, static displays, the Birds and Blues being grounded, and basically all air show/public support being slammed shut.

Sad times, and it's only going to get worse.

[moosepileit]

https://eaa.org/news/2013/2013-09-26_warbird-pilots-step-in-to-honor-fallen-airmen.asp

[GrndPndr]

https://eaa.org/news/...llen-airmen.asp

From the Story:

And although the Air Force had to deny the flight request, it did step up by providing a forward air control team on the ground.

FM

[Kaman]

That is so weak...Concurrent with a training mission is that difficult to coordinate???

[Danny Noonin]

That is so weak...Concurrent with a training mission is that difficult to coordinate???

Yes. Flyovers at Arlington are no small deal.

[Bronco130]

Yes. Flyovers at Arlington are no small deal.

..neither is sacrificing your life for country