By Shawn Clish | March 8, 2022 Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 37 seconds.
The annual Heritage Flight Training Course took place at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona, from March 3 to 6, 2022. The four Air Combat Command Demonstration teams were lined up on one side of the ramp opposite their civilian counterparts, which included 10 P-51 Mustangs and a lone F-86 Sabre.
The Heritage Flight was created in 1997 to recognize the 50th anniversary of the United States Air Force. Twenty-five years later, as the Air Force prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary (and Air Combat Command celebrates its 30th anniversary), the program is still a major tool that honors the men and women who have served — and continue to serve — while also supporting the service’s retention and recruitment efforts.
This year, the program said goodbye to one of its founding members, as Steve Hinton flew his final Heritage Flight in P-51D “Wee Willy II” during the special five-ship Super Bowl LVI opening flyover. As Hinton exits, he passes the torch to his son, Steve Hinton Jr., who is one of two civilian pilots in Tucson qualifying for the first time. To help new pilots get acquainted, they receive a back-seat ride in both a Mustang and an F-16D before flying their first formation flight.
The F-16 demo team also announced a new leader, as Capt Aimee “Rebel” Fielder was certified as the team’s commander and demonstration pilot on March 5, taking over from Maj Garret “Toro” Schmitz, who held the position for the previous three seasons.
The multi-day event gave the pilots an opportunity to qualify in formations of two, three, and four aircraft as both lead and wingman, ahead of the 2022 airshow season.
