On the fenceline...... welcome the Dutch back to Tucson!

On Monday 20DEC2010 the Royal Netherlands Air Force RNLAF (a.k.a. the Dutch) resumed flight operations at Tucson Int'l. Airport, Arizona after a 3-year hiatus. Arrival of the General Dynamics F-16A/B MLU aircraft began last month and after a short bed-down period they are back in the air. They are hosted by the 162nd Fighter Wing, a unit of the Arizona Air National Guard that is tasked with providing international forces flying the F-16 with flight training and support. Total number of aircraft will be 14 for the unit.

RNLAF are no strangers to the mountainous desert terrain in southern Arizona. From 1989 to 2007 Dutch crews trained here until a 3-year stint with the 178th fighter Wing at Springfield, Ohio took place. Now back in the desert, the Dutch Vipers will again operate in the heat and strength-sapping conditions that accompany the excellent flying conditions present in Tucson. Though the aircraft are mostly 1980's vintage Falcons they have gone through the Mid-Life Update MLU process with the avionics and cockpit instrumentation on-par with the modern Block 50 versions.

Welkom terug tot Tucson!

This is the end.....

The end of an era of operations of the Lockheed Martin F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Vipers at Tucson Int'l. Airport, Arizona that is. Today the last three Desert Vipers assigned to the 148th Fighter Squadron "Kicking Ass" left for the long trip back to their home base at Al Dahfra AB, United Arab Emirates.

The Block 60s were built specifically for the UAE and, so far, are the only operator of the variant. They wear conformal fuel tanks CFTs on top of the aircraft for more fuel capacity and have all manner of lumps and bumps that are antennae and sensors. A partially integrated variant of the SNIPER targeting pod hangs on the left-hand intake station and adds to the sinister look.

On departure they not only had the CFTs but also a midline tank and two unusually large 600 gallon underwing tanks! The massive fuel load combined with the most powerful engine of any F-16 variant made for a nice long takeoff roll. So long Desert Vipers, the spotters visiting Tucson Int'l. Airport will miss you greatly!

Who said civies are boring?

As in most areas of life, for whatever reason, lines can be drawn. We're all familiar with the arguments:

Ford vs. Chevy

Gibson vs. Fender

Puffed vs. Crunchy (Cheetos I'm referring to, of course).

Sadly the aviation spotter community isn't immune from this. I've spoken in the past with photographers who "only" track military aircraft as well as an equal number who look at the "drab colored pointy nose" aircraft with an equal amount of disdain.

Personally, I don't understand it. For me, the sight of anything weighing anywhere from a few hundred pounds (think of a 1,000 pound Super Cub) to several hundred thousand pounds (think of a C-5 Galaxy at max. ramp weight of 840,000 lbs.) banking and soaring like some mighty mechanical bird is utterly mesmerizing. I have stood in the approach lights at Anchorage's Ted Stevens Airport with MD-11s and 747s skimming above me and thinking there was no better place in the world to be. At that moment. I've stood in the Welsh hills with front line RAF fighters screaming past below my position at the speed of heat and thinking there was no better place in the world to be. At that moment.

Wednesday I was able to gather with some of the other members of the Arizona Aviation Photographers group in Tucson for a day of spotting aircraft. For some reason the AZ ANG / UAEAF folks weren't flying but there were some interesting Civilian jets come in: a Mexico registered Raytheon Hawker 800XP that's not been documented much (apparently), a Canadair Regional Jet that has been pulled from storage to fly with Mesa Airlines with a plain-Jane white paint scheme and (perhaps because of all the whining we do about seeing only Sheldon the turtle) a Frontier Airbus A318 with Benny the grizzly on the tail. There was no better place in the world to be. At that moment.