COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Two F-35A Lightning II aircraft visited Team BLAZE Nov. 13 at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.
Piloting one of the aircraft was Lt. Col. Dan “Freeze” Hingley, 33rd Fighter Wing Chief of Safety and 58th Fighter Squadron Instructor Pilot from Eglin AFB, Florida.
Hingley was a prior 49th Fighter Squadron instructor pilot who was happy to see how things have changed.
“It’s good to see the changes on base and the 49th (FTS),” Hingley said. “I came over here in 2007. I was in the 49th (FTS) teaching Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals for about a year and a half and then I PCS’d to Holloman AFB to fly the F-22(Raptor).”
Hingley explained his development as a pilot going from a training base to flying the U.S. Air Force’s most advanced aircraft.
“I was the first guy to go to the F-22 from a non-radar-equipped fighter at the time,” Hingley said. “The Raptor is an incredible platform. I was just excited to be flying it.
“I was at Nellis AFB for my last assignment flying with the 65th Aggressor squadron which closed down. I knew the Air Force was looking for some guys with F-22 experience to fly the F-35 and I was able to get a job at Eglin AFB.”
The F-35 is the U.S. Air Force’s latest fifth-generation fighter. It will replace the U.S. Air Force’s entire aging fleet of F-15 Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, which have been the primary fighter aircraft for more than 20 years, and bring with it an enhanced capability to survive in the advanced threat environment in which it was designed to operate.
“It’s awesome,” Hingley said. “This is the first time I’ve taken it off station. It feels good to talk to guys going through pilot training and others going through fighter training. The F-35 especially is going to be a growth industry. With jets being produced more and more there is going to be a need for pilots in the next couple of years.”
Hingley wanted to assure pilots, both in training and instructing, the Air Force offers the chance to excel and try out new things like the F-35. His transformation from T-38 to F-22 to F-35 pilot shows Airmen to never give up on reaching for the best.