The White Falcon - 26.02.1971, Side 7

February 26, 1971
THE WHITE FALCON
Page 7
ther briefing is given and fol-
lowed by a lecture on aircraft
status. A short break preceeds
the mission briefing in which all
pilots on the morning mission
gather to get operating instruc-
tions .
The first take-off is usually
ound 9:30 a.m. and lasts about
minutes. During this time, the
pilots simulate intercepts with a
target aircraft sent up earlier.
The* morning mission ends shortly
before noon.
Following lunch and a second
weather briefing, the pilots are
ready for the afternoon mission.
Continual vigilance is also part
of the job and two planes are al-
ways on the alert with the pilots
on duty 24-hours-a-day ready to
launch on a five-minute notice
should unidentified aircraft be
approaching. If any "Zombies" —
a name given to Russian planes —
are sighted the training mission
is scrubbed and all efforts are
directed to tracking and escort-
ing procedures with the unidenti-
fied aircraft.
The 57th FIS nowhas over 1,500
hours without an accident which
gives it the
best safety re-
cord of any
fighter squad-
ron in the Air
Defense Command,
a tribute to
both pilots and
crews.
The command-
ing officer of
the 57th is
Lt.Col. Raymond
J. Wyskup, who,
in addition to
accepting the
Hughes Trophy for the squadron,
also received the Air Force Out-
standing Unit Award, the fourth
time the 57th has been so honored.