Air Force Pilots Need More Flying Hours, Which Build Both Skill—and Loyalty
Oct. 9, 2025 | By Gen. Merrill A. McPeak, USAF (Ret.)
America’s Air Force today is smaller and older than it was in my day, but what worries me more than size or age is just how ready we are to fly, fight, and win in a future war.
I graduated from flying school and got my wings in January 1959. From then until I left Vietnam in November 1969, I logged 3,138.4 flying hours in the two principal types of aircraft I flew, the F-100 and F-104—an average of 23.9 hours per month.
It is true that this 131-month period included a two-year tour with the Thunderbirds and 11 months in combat, both high-intensity flying jobs. But it also included 16 months on the staff of the Third Air Force, the momentum lost in transitioning back-and-forth between the two aircraft types four times, downtime associated with six PCS moves, and time spent in various schools—jump school, half a dozen survival schools, forward air controller school—as well as leave and so forth.
In those days, we aimed to get 20 hours a month, and I was able to beat that average. For me, the end result was remarkable. For one thing, I loved the life; I decided to make the Air Force a career. More importantly, you could say I felt quite at home in the air.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-pilots-more-flying-hours-skill-loyalty/
