Col. Patrick McKenzie, commander of the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan AB, South Korea, reached his 3,000th flight hour in the F-16, joining a group of some 200 pilots worldwide who have accumulated this many hours in the Viper cockpit, according to a base release. “I feel very lucky to have been able to reach this feat,” said McKenzie, who reached the milestone during a March 28 sortie, states the release. “While I get to personally reach the milestone, it is not something that I accomplished myself. Many others to include maintainers, support personnel, and fellow fighter pilots have all made this milestone attainable,” he added. McKenzie has been an F-16 pilot for more than 22 years, according to the release. “This is a rare accomplishment for any fighter pilot; I have been blessed to fly the F-16 long enough to reach the mark,” he said. (Osan report by SSgt. Sara Csurilla)
The Air Force’s nascent KC-Z program, aimed at developing a next-generation family of systems for aerial refueling, will look to launch its analysis-of-alternatives study in 2024, years earlier than originally planned. Originally, the analysis of alternatives for KC-Z was set for “maybe in the 2030s,” Paul Waugh, program executive officer…