Fly Like an Eagle

Just another quick Poe story before I go up to watch the women's murder club. As the commander of AFLC, Gen Poe was in charge of fielding new equipment...one of his many duties. He came to Germany for the ceremony switching the first squadrons of F-4s out for the new F-15. He had been a zoomie in his youth but because of rules and situations, he hadn't been able to get checked out in the new fighter, yet. He figured the new squadron would be a good place to get his first ride.

Whenever an Air Force four star general goes anywhere, there are chase planes following them around to provide security. The General's security on this trip was being provided by one of the many F-4 units around. So what happened when the general got into the F-15 is that he had an F-4 for chase. He recounted how the F-15 got clearance and began to rollout. The squadron commander was piloting this ride and wanted to create a lasting impression. He stood the Eagle on it tail and lept off the runway in an almost verticle angle. Passing through 10.000 feet, Poe said he looked over his shoulder at the runway and saw his security plane just rotating off the runway. The colonel behind the wheel said, "Sorry she's so sluggish, General, but we have to keep the external wing tanks on for contingencies."