Fighter Wing Takes F-16s to Poland for Familiarization Visit

National Guard, Nov 2004 by Ripps, Gregory

Texas

"Whoosh" is the sound a fast-flying, high-performance aircraft like the F-16 Fighting Falcon makes as it passes by in comic books.

"Wootsh" is pretty close to the pronunciation of the Polish city of Lodz, the spelling for which cannot be precisely rendered on an AmericanEnglish computer keyboard.

During two weeks in September, the real sound of an F-16 became more familiar to Polish cars while several Polish words became better-known to 93 members of the 149th Fighter Wing from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

The Texas Air Guardsmen traveled to Lodz, Poland, to better acquaint the NATO nation's air force with the F-16. Poland is purchasing 48 F-16s with delivery of the first aircralt expected in late 2006.

Normally, Poland works military with Illinois, its partner in the National Guard State Partnership Program; however, Illinois' 183rd Fighter Wing was deployed this year so the 149th was asked to fill in.

"We want to familiarize pilots selected earlier for schooling in the United States with the procedures for operation of its F-16s and the ones used in NATO," said Col. Adam Swierkocz, commander of 32nd Air Base at Lask.

Thirty-six Polish pilots, who normally fly old, Soviet-built aircraft, participated in the familiarization.

They examined the F-16 on the ground. They also received "back-seat" rides in a two-seat F-16D and flew "dissimilar" maneuvers with the Texas Air Guard to judge the F-16's capabilities.

"I thought it was a great airplane," said Capt. Arkadiusz Kurkiewicz, a MiG-21 pilot. "Now I know that it is true."

-By Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps