19 more eagles soar

19 more eagles soar
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 22, 2008 18:09:08 EST

The good news for F-15 Eagle units has been slowly mounting.

As of Tuesday, the Air Force had cleared an additional 19 Eagles to resume flying because the fighters passed inspections of their interior structural supports.

On Jan. 9, Air Combat Command gave the green light for 259 of the A through D-model versions of the F-15 to fly. Each jet has passed an inspection that measured more than 150 spots to determine if the jet’s fuselage supports met the original thickness specifications or showed any signs of potentially cracking.

Since the Jan. 9 announcement, 19 more jets have also passed inspections. That leaves with Air Force with 172 Eagles still grounded.

Gen. John Corley, head of ACC, said Jan. 10 that a decision on if and when most of the grounded jets can return to flight will wait until at least February when he hears detailed proposals on repairing the jets.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/airforce_f15_grounding_update_080122w/