Eldest instructor at Columbus AFB to retire

  • Published
  • By Sonic Johnson
  • 14 Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  A significant aviation milestone for Columbus Air Force Base was marked Feb. 8 when Lt. Col. Gordon Kimpel and Lt. Col. Bruce Benyshek, both from the 50th Flying Training Squadron, stepped down from the T-38 cockpit they shared together. The duo represents a combined 22,000 flight and 68 years of accident-free aviation experience. This was Kimpel's last flight before retiring from active duty.

Kimpel was voluntarily recalled to active duty and has been a T-38C instructor pilot for Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training since 2009 where he logged over 1,000 instructor hours in the Talon.

After his flight, Kimpel summed up his thoughts with "There's nothing better that an old fighter pilot could do than to come back and teach the next generation of military pilots how to fly."

Prior to his voluntary recall to active duty, Kimpel was a retired Delta Airlines pilot with more than 8,000 hours in the Boeing 737, B-757, B-767, B-777 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

Kimpel was commissioned in 1974 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Connecticut and went through pilot training at Vance AFB, Okla. in 1976. Following pilot training, he was assigned to fly the F-4C/D at Kadena AB, Japan and transitioned to the F-15C while there. With a total of seven different F-15 assignments over 23 years, Kimpel amassed over 3,000 hours in the F-15 Eagle.

In addition to his seven F-15 assignments, Kimpel has also deployed to Canada, Denmark, East Germany, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.

"Flash Kimpel brought an invaluable amount of experience and knowledge to our pilot training operation," noted Lt. Col James Owen, 50th FTS Director of Operations. "He has forgotten more about aviation than most pilots know!"