First students graduate Raptor Basic Course

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Vesta M. Anderson
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --  Four student pilots at Tyndall AFB became the first graduates of the Air Force's F-22 Raptor Basic Course Nov. 1, setting another milestone in the fielding of the Air Force's most advanced fighter aircraft. 

These pilots are the first in the Air Force to have the F-22 as their first operational aircraft rather than transitioning to the Raptor from some other fighter.

Capt. Marcus McGinn and 1st Lts. Dan Dickenson, Ryan Shelhorse and Austin B. Skelley made history after eight months of intense study and flight training, both on the ground and in simulators.

"They exceeded our expectations," said Capt. Jonathan Gration, a flight commander with the 43rd Fighter Squadron and one of the instructor pilots who taught the four during the Raptor basic course.

"We didn't really have a bar to compare them against," he said. "We didn't expect them to pick up on the advanced concepts of flying F-22s as they did. I think these guys are more than ready to leave this course and go out to the combat Air Force and join an operational fighter squadron."

The road to graduation started years ago with an entirely different group of pilots: transition pilots, who previously certified in other fighter aircraft but made the move to the F-22. Their job at Tyndall was to become familiar with the jet and its capabilities in order to create a syllabus for future students.

After timely preparation, the basic course syllabus was ready for the first class of student pilots.

"Training these new guys coming in with no experience flying fighters, except for just a little bit in the F-16 prior to this course, was definitely a new experience for me," said Captain Gration. "These guys were handpicked to come here. They're really sharp, motivated, young fighter pilots." 

The syllabus, including 88.5 hours of simulator training, 27 academic tests and 62.4 hours of flight training, challenged and tested each student daily. Initially, the students didn't know exactly what to anticipate from the eight-month course.

"The training wasn't necessarily harder or easier than I was imagining," said Captain McGinn, one of the four students. "It was different."

Although student pilots training on other fighter aircraft told the captain what to expect during his training, the similarities turned out to be slight. The captain's classmates learned quickly to start thinking on their own and to foresee future expectations.

"The most difficult part of the training was learning to make higher-level mission decisions that are typically, in other fighters, made only by experienced flight leads," said Lieutenant Skelley. "Learning to make such mission-critical decisions, with relatively low experience as a fighter pilot, was hands down the most challenging part of my training."

Fully understanding the materials and information was vital to the students.

"You cannot use the Raptor's capabilities of super-cruise, avionics, stealth and enhanced maneuverability if you don't know your stuff," said Lieutenant Shelhorse. "Each and every day you study your heart out to make sure that you can execute well enough to use the advantages the Raptor has over any other legacy-type fighters. If you fail to study, then you fail to succeed."

The quality of the course was showcased with the students' first flight in the F-22. With only one seat in the $137.6 million aircraft, the students' first flight was also their first solo flight; the instructor pilots flew in another F-22 beside them. 

Captain Gration recalled Captain McGinn's first flight as a time of anxiousness and excitement.

"One of the biggest things I tried to do going into the (mission) brief was to make him relax," said Captain Gration. "You could tell he was excited and a little bit nervous. They are the first guys going through the course ever and the pressure is on them."

But the students proved to be more than ready.

"(During) the first flight I was definitely nervous while we were taxiing out on the runway," Lieutenant Dickenson said. "But once we took off, everything kind of settled in. The training kicked in, and it was a super exciting flight." 

When it came time to assign credit for their graduation, the students were quick to point to the help they received from others. 

"The maintainers that I worked with were some of the most professional and hard-working individuals that I have ever met in my entire life," Lieutenant Shelhorse said. "It's really a great feeling when you're stepping up to fly the world's greatest air superiority fighter (to know) that you've got the world's greatest crew chiefs right there at your side."

The students now will begin their next phase of development at F-22 squadrons throughout the combat Air Forces. Each student will complete mission qualification training to become combat ready.

"I will look back on this experience fondly," said Lieutenant Skelley. "I'm humbled to be a part of the first Raptor B-Course, and my classmates made the journey all the more memorable. They are exceptional pilots and continually challenge me to be the best Raptor pilot I can be."

(Capt. John Severns, Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs, contributed to this story)

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