Spangdahlem pilots take part in air-to-ground weapons competition

HELCHTEREN, Belgium — The A-10 Thunderbolt roared overhead, close enough to jolt unsuspecting onlookers and loud enough for everyone to reach for their earplugs.

One after another, the low-flying “Warthogs” from the 81st Fighter Squadron swooped in and strafed the targets to the delight of those who came to witness the destructive power with digital camera in tow.

“I wish they would’ve been closer up,” said Air Force Capt. Cathy Weckwerth, who works for the obstetrics and gynecology department at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. “But when they came up close like that, it was awesome.”

Weckwerth was one of the nearly two dozen people from the base who watched a William Tell-style air-to-ground weapons competition among fighter pilots from Spangdahlem.

Pilots call the competition a “turkey shoot.”

Anybody from the base could sign up to take a trip to the military shooting range in eastern Belgium, and dozens of people made the two-hour bus ride to watch the weeklong contest, which ended Thursday.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike Panfil took a day off from work at the base pediatrics clinic to watch. His wife and their two children enjoyed a picnic perched on top of a hill as they watched the A-10s unload their weapons.

“Just to see the power, to know the destruction that they can do and see the planes in action, it was very neat,” he said. “Hey, beats being at work.”

His daughter, who turned 11 on Thursday, said she had a blast.

“I’ve never seen anything like that, so it was really shocking to me,” Dana Panfil said.

The 52nd Fighter Wing’s 81st, 23rd and 22nd fighter squadrons participated in the second contest of the year.

The 81st, which flies the A-10 and is nicknamed the “Panthers,” took 11 out of the 15 awards. Three of the squadron’s pilots took top honors, with Capt. John Buske earning the title of Overall Top Gun.

During the high-altitude, bomb-dropping event, 1st Lt. Clark Clayton of the 81st got within 35 feet of the target.

Maj. Peter Olson, the wing’s A-10 weapons tactics officer, said weather hampered portions of the contest, but he was amazed at the participants’ accuracy. Pilots used 25-pound “dummy” bombs on the range, which has been used for more than 50 years by the Belgium air force and NATO allies.