{"id":70215,"date":"2023-06-21T20:03:56","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T20:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/06\/21\/f-16-pilot-calls-the-fighter-jets-sought-by-ukraine-easy-to-fly\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:39:04","slug":"f-16-pilot-calls-the-fighter-jets-sought-by-ukraine-easy-to-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/06\/21\/f-16-pilot-calls-the-fighter-jets-sought-by-ukraine-easy-to-fly\/","title":{"rendered":"F-16 pilot calls the fighter jets sought by Ukraine \u2018easy to fly\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LE BOURGET, France \u2014 F-16 fighter jets hurtle pilots through the sky at up to 2,000 kilometers per hour (1,243 miles per hour). In tight turns or sudden climbs, gravity is pressing so hard on their bodies that some of them might even pass out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, it\u2019s an experience Ukraine is seeking for its own pilots after getting U.S. approval<\/a> to train and eventually receive the American-made jets to bolster its more than year-old fight against Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had long pressed Western allies for the planes to gain an advantage in the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to be a \u201cTop Gun<\/a>,\u201d you need more than just the aircraft: You need the training to get you there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the Paris Air Show<\/a> this week, the world\u2019s top aerospace trade show, U.S. Air Force Capt. David \u201cSpicy\u201d Brown, an F-16 pilot, said training takes about a year for American military pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Capt.
Capt. David Brown, aka Spicy, a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet pilot poses for a photo after an interview at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Lewis Joly\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not clear how long it will take Ukrainian pilots to learn to fly the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis jet is incredibly easy to fly,\u201d said Brown, an pilot instructor with over 1,000 hours of flight time who is stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. \u201cIt\u2019s all of the other stuff that goes along with the flying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told The Associated Press that \u201cyou don\u2019t have to worry about it going out of control. The main thing is being able to work the sensors, being able to work your radar\u201d and the other systems of the jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Joe Biden announced in May at the summit of the Group of 7 major economies that the U.S. will allow shipment of the American-made jets<\/a> to Ukraine and help provide training, although no official plans or dates have been discussed publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\t