But...last week I was sitting on the porch when there was a roar and two jet fighters flew down the center line of RW 26 and then did a fighter break entering a left downwind to land. I ran and got my camera. The first jet touched down and then the second one did another go-around for some reason which is when I took the pic below.
I ASSUMED it was an F16 - but when I photoshopped it this morning - it was not.
After a fair amount of googling...I have concluded it is an Israeli-built Kfir (Lion Cub) fighter.
The plane has an interesting history. It is a knock-off of a French Mirage 5 - the Israelis stole the plans for the Mirage back in the late 60's from a Swiss company that was building the plane under license. The Kfir served as a front-line fighter and then fighter-bomber for about 20 years in the Israeli air force; but has now been retired.
The U.S. Navy operated 25 Kfirs in the mid to late 80's as "adversary" aircraft in combat training.
I am pretty sure the plane I saw is operated by some outfit called "ATAC" which according to wikipedia is "a civilian company that provides fleet tactical aircraft and services to the US military. ATAC provides airborne tactical training, threat simulation, and research & development. They are based in Newport News, VA and also operate the Saab 35 Draken"
The Juneau flight identified themselves as "Dragon 11" (Draken is dragon in Swedish) which bolsters the ATAC connection.
I saw in the Anchorage paper yesterday that there are some military exercises going on this week in the Interior - so I reckon these boys are participating.
In other news...it's pouring down rain this morning. It was drippy yesterday and I did some cooking - made chicken stock (will make chicken noodle soup for the Old Coot today) and also a big batch of bolognese sauce. The folks actually like the spaghetti sauce although I do have to make it with sweet, as opposed to hot, Italian sausage.Later kids...
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