By BRETT SWIGER
Air Force cadets at BYU do more than just march around and exercise. In fact, some of them do what many people only dream of — pilot a high performance jet.
Cadets attend a four- to six-week officers’ training course between their sophomore and junior years. There, they get the chance to fly a T-37 jet. Some cadets who obtain special permission get to fly other prestigious fighters such as the F-16 Falcon or F-15 Eagle.
Last week, Air Force Cadet Derek O’Malley got his chance.
At Hill Air Force Base, he strapped in to a two-seater F-16, which is used by the Air Force as an air-to-air interceptor and attack aircraft. This airplane played a key role in the Gulf War.
Cadet O’Malley, a senior from Albuquerque, N.M., majoring in broadcasting, is BYU’s Air Force ROTC cadet commander, and after he graduates in June, he will be assigned to pilot training in the Air Force.
Before he could suit up, O’Malley had to go through a medical clearance and three hours of weather and mission briefings. Then, it was another hour of reviewing checklists and waiting for clearance before he could taxi out to the runway.
After taking off, O’Malley piloted the aircraft and practiced basic maneuvers before engaging in an air-to-air combat practice mission with other planes from the squadron.
“It gets pretty hectic up there. Things happen really fast when you’re zipping around at 450 knots. It’s an incredibly powerful aircraft, and I have a lot of respect for the pilots who fly and excel in that environment,” O’Malley said.
Pilots in the 34th Fighter Squadron are college- and pilot-training graduates from the Air Force Academy, the Air Force ROTC and the Officer Candidate School.
In the last year, BYU Air Force ROTC cadets have earned six pilot training slots, remaining one of the nation’s highest recruited Air Force ROTC units for pilots.
“I love my job, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. But it requires more work than people realize, and there’s a lot of training involved,” explained 1st Lt. Dave Chaney, 34th Fighter Squadron pilot.
