Nellis F-15Cs

NELLIS F-15 EAGLE HITS 10,000 FLIGHT HOURS MILESTONE

By Dario Leone
Feb 3 2017
Share this article

The aircraft, an F-15C Eagle, is the first F-15 assigned to a Nellis AFB unit to hit the 10,000 hour milestone

Nellis F-15’s ‘odometer’ hits 10,000 flight hours

Story by Staff Sgt. Siuta B. Ika, 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

She’s more than 60 feet long and stands about two stories tall. She’s been many different colors – she’s currently grey – and shades of her past ‘lives’ can still be seen all over her body.

A lady never reveals her age or speaks about her past, but aircraft 83-3014 reached 10,000 flight hours during a sortie at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, Jan. 25, 2017.

The aircraft, an F-15C Eagle, is the first F-15 assigned to a Nellis AFB unit to hit the 10,000 hour milestone.

“I’ve probably put in about 80 hours with her over the last two years and she’s just a great jet,” said Maj. Cody Clark, 433rd Weapons Squadron pilot and aircraft 83-3014’s milestone sortie pilot. “It’s a testament to the maintenance personnel that they could keep a jet performing for so long at the level at which she does.”

The aircraft came to Nellis AFB in July 2010 from Langley AFB, Virginia, and flew here as an aggressor – a “Red” force aircraft that replicates tactics and techniques of potential adversaries against “Blue” forces – before being transferred to the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron’s Eagle Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU) and flown in support of U.S. Air Force Weapons School and 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron operations.

While stationed at Langley AFB, the aircraft deployed multiple times and was flown in operations Southern Watch and Northern Watch.

The F-15’s initial operational requirement was for a service life of 4,000 hours. Following successful airframe structural testing, the F-15C was extended to an 8,000-hour service life limit and was extended further because of the need for air superiority.

Maj. Cody Clark, 433rd Weapons Squadron F-15 pilot, is greeted by Airman 1st Class Thatcher Gore, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Eagle Maintenance Unit crew chief, after a sortie in which aircraft 83-3014 hit 10,000 flight hours at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 25, 2017. Although the Air Force’s F-15 fleet is more than 30 years old, only a handful of the C/D/E aircraft are believed to be in the 10,000 hour club.

“To get to 10,000 flight hours means probably a couple hundred thousand maintenance hours have been put in,” said Master Sgt. Joseph Romero, Eagle AMU lead production superintendent. “So for over 30 years, day-in and day-out, maintainers have done everything asked of them and more to get the aircraft to this point.

“Normally, 10,000 flight hours is only seen within combat-coded units,” Romero said. “Everybody in Eagle AMU has touched this aircraft, so if it wasn’t for their work, and the work of M1 Support Services, this jet would never have reached 10,000 hours.”

The next closest F-15 to 10,000 hours at Nellis AFB is also housed at Eagle AMU and currently has a little more than 9,000 hours. But with each of the unit’s F-15s currently averaging 120 hours a year, the aircraft may not reach the 10,000-hour milestone.

Although the Air Force’s F-15 fleet is more than 30 years old, only a handful of the C/D/E aircraft are believed to be in the 10,000 hour club.

“Even though she’s old she’s been continually improved over the years to keep up with emerging threats,” Clark said. “A new aircraft that rolls off the line might have that ‘new jet’ smell, but it’s not much different per say because this aircraft is so well maintained.

As new enemy airframes roll off the line, I’d still put her up against them any day.”

In true Nellis AFB fashion, aircraft 83-3014, her pilot, and her crew celebrated the milestone by … getting her ready for her next sortie about two hours after she hit 10,000.

Airman 1st Class Thatcher Gore, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Eagle Maintenance Unit crew chief, performs a postflight check on an F-15 Eagle after the aircraft hit 10,000 flight hours during a sortie at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 25, 2017. To get the aircraft to 10,000 flight hours, more than 100,000 maintenance hours have been put in by maintenance professionals like Gore for the last 30 years.

Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Siuta B. Ika / U.S. Air Force


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices