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CENTAF pilot reaches 4,000 in F-16

  • Published
  • By Capt. Amy Hutchisson
  • Central Command Air Forces Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  As a child fascinated with anything that defied gravity, from a paper airplane to a kite, a Shaw Air Force Base F-16 pilot never imagined he would rank among the top in total F-16 flying hours, etching his way in the history books.

Lieutenant Col. Dan Swayne surpassed the 4,000 flying hours mark in an F-16 January 14, making him the second Air Force active-duty member and 23rd viper pilot in the world to achieve this milestone, according to David Hill, who keeps statistics for Lockheed Martin.

Colonel Swayne is the deputy chief of standardization and evaluation for 9th Air Force and Central Command Air Forces, stationed at Shaw. He reached the 3,000-hour milestone six years ago and logged his 4,000th during a training sortie from Mississippi with the 107th Fighter Squadron, Selfridge Air National Guard, Mich.

The 42-year-old flyboy from Bellwood, Pa., was modest about his achievement. He believes it's, "better to be lucky than good," because he feels fortunate to have flown in the same airframe and stayed healthy throughout his career.

"It reinforces I'm blessed with health, have a supportive family, and fly a great plane," said Colonel Swayne. Most fighter pilots spend their first few years flying their first airframe, then they'll have to "fly a desk" somewhere and then maybe move on to a different airframe. But the F-16s have been in service and relevant aircraft for many years - and Colonel Swayne has managed to stay off the "DNIF" (Duty Not Including Flying) doctor's list by maintaining his good health.

It's rare for an active-duty pilot to achieve this milestone because pilots rarely have numerous flying assignments. It wasn't until he moved into his current position, which involves a minimum of five sorties per month, that he thought it might be possible to reach the 4,000 hours mark.

The colonel began his flying career upon graduation from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987 and undergraduate pilot training in 1988. He has been flying F-16s ever since. Before his current assignment at 9AF/CENTAF, he has had seven flying assignments, which include MacDill AFB, Hill AFB, Misawa Air Base, Cannon AFB, Luke AFB, Eglin AFBs along with an assignment at the 20th Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB. He also logged combat hours during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. "With all the flying assignments I've had, it's not magic, it's just math," said Colonel Swayne.