Warbirds, New Fighters Fly in Unison

The 2015 Heritage Flight at Davis-Monthan AFB on February 26. On the sun-drenched flight line at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on Friday morning, a World War II-vintage P-47 Thunderbolt sputtered and smoked to life. A couple of hundred feet across the taxiway, a modern-day F-16 Fighting Falcon warmed up its jet engine with a shrill roar. A few minutes later, the two planes flew nearly wingtip to wingtip as they practiced formation flying over D-M's airfield. The skies above Tucson will feature some unusual sights and sounds through the weekend as a mix of historic warplanes and newer fighters perform air-show practice at Davis-Monthan. During the Heritage Flight Training and Certification Course at D-M, which runs through Sunday, civilian pilots of historic military aircraft and Air Force pilots of current fighters practice flying in formation and earn certifications in preparation for air-show season.