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Flying airplanes has been my passion for life as well as my career. I hope to share some of my experiences to you via this web site. God has truly Blessed me with a great career in aviation. From flying F-16s with the USAF and ANG to airline jets with Delta Air Lines as well as my own experimental aircraft, I've had the rare opportunity to touch the "Face of God." |
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F-16C over Iraq -- March 2003. Photo taken by Ned Linch (N4LS) from another F-16.
This is "Smokey" Ray, my good friend and wingman, during a combat sortie
during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Alabama Air National Guard.
Configuration is 2xAIM 120s, 2xGBU-12 and 1xJDAM. Block 30+ F-16.
Major Ned Linch (now retired Lt Col Linch) prior to a combat sortie over Iraq. I'm standing next to a 2000# JDAM (GPS guided bomb). We carried an assortment of survival gear plus a 9 mil pistol.
There were no times for smiling until we were on the way home. This was serious business and we put our lives at risk on a daily basis. I have awife and 3 kids so my only goal in the war was to make it back home. Period dot.
The flying had its ups and downs. The missions were long (6 hours), at night, in
bad weather sometimes, sometimes in support of ground troops in trouble, many
boring moments followed by some excitement. This is what we train for so it was
exciting to be there but deep down very tough as well. 7 years later, I still feel
the pain of saying good bye to my kids. I don't think you can ever get over such
a thing as that kind of pain but that's just part of the business.
I've been there, done this many times and this is what fighter pilots live for. We live for the fun and excitement of flying airplanes to the limit. This is nothing for the F-16...going straight up!
I've had more fun max performing this sweet machine--over 2000 hours. With just around 150 hours of combat time, you can see that I've had more time playing than working and I've enjoyed every minute of it. |
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I took this photo during sunrise as we were headed to the Middle East over the Med. The KC-135 tanker is in the distance. The mountain is a volcano on the Island of Sicily--the name of the volcano is Etna. It was such a beautiful sunrise. Our first leg of the mission over was from Montgomery, AL to Moron, Spain. After a day of rest in Spain, we flew to our base in the Middle East. Since we have to land in the day during these deployment flights, we have to takeoff in the middle of the night so sunrise is a good thing and helps wake you up. The flight to Spain was just over 9 hours with 9 refuelings. I always get a lot of questions in regard to these type flights across "the pond" in an F-16 (where you can't move around for over 10 hours...) but we are busy most of the time. Six F-16s are assigned to a tanker and it takes a good 10 to 15 minutes to refuel each aircraft. By the time we cycle everyone through for a top off, it is time to do it again. We'd get a break between refuelings but just long enough to try and take a whiz (which I could write a book about because it is not an easy thing to take a whiz in a "piddle pack" and fly especially at night and in the weather....)We also have to wear a "poopy suit" which is a dry suit to protect you from the elements if you had to eject over the North Atlantic. That would be a bad day for sure but the F-16 has just one engine. And, sometimes they just don't work. I've seen several F-16s crash but that is another book for the future. After landing the jet after a long flight, you're very tired and dirty. It takes several days to physically get over crossing the pond. In our case, the next day, we were doing it again. Since the tanker does all the navigating and communication, all we do is just follow him and "rag chew" to each other on the VHF radio. Most of the comm is in accordance with our standard procedures which doesn't involve any rag chewing and is highly disciplined. But, crossing the pond is more relaxed on the radio and it becomes essential to rag chew to stay awake. Everyone usually brings a CD player or IPod to listen to some tunes. This helps with the sleep issue as well. We were also given "go pills" which is speed. But, most of us didn't take the speed because it can make you sick and that's the last thing you want on a flight like this. On my last refueling as we coasted into Spain, I actually started screaming at myself into my 02 mask trying to wake myself up and become alert.
 Prior to the deployment flight from Montgomery, AL to Moron, Spain. The first layer is long johns, then dry suit, then over-sized flight suit, survival vest with tons of gear, G-suit, parachute harness. I carried several large water bottles and a bag of bit size food and protein bars.
Somewhere over the middle of the Atlantic as the sun was just rising in our eyes. Feb 2003. Our rejoin with the tanker was over Macon, GA. The route from Montgomery, AL to the rejoin point was over my hometown of West Point, GA. As I flew over my hometown at 2 AM, I could see the lights of my house on our street. I kept looking back and wanting to tell my family I love them, but I was at 25,000' en-route to the war and it was night time and.....We rejoined on the tanker and it was back to business and concentrating on flying the jet. Photo by Ned Linch
Best day of my life. Back home! I'm glad I got a chance to serve in the air over Iraq but I don't want to ever go back there again.
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F-111E "Vark" from RAF UpperHeyford back in 1988. I started my career in the Air Force in the F-111. The F-111 had a HF radio and I sometimes operated airborne mobile from the UK. |
Upside down in my Van's RV-4 -- this plane is so much fun!
Lt Col Ned Linch, Jan 2007. F-16 pilot and Chief of Flight Safety for 12th Air Force/Air Forces Southern.
Flying the MD-88. This airplane is probably the worst jet I've ever flown. It's like flying a pig in space. The control response is terrible.
Wolf, Linch (N4LS) and Ray
Honcho 23 – Operation Iraqi Freedom
“I am flying on the wing of Maj. Ned Linch from the 160th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from the Alabama Air National Guard (ANG). We’re on an F-16 night mission and flying reconnaissance over possible SCUD hiding sites. It’s day 15 of the war, and the weather is awful. The bottom of the weather is about 5,000” above the ground. Inside it’s lightning and hailing and raining”, recalls Maj Brian “Wolfman” Wolf. His flight lead that evening, now-Lt. Col. Ned “Mob” Linch, elaborates: “Visibility below the weather is a real problem. The haze and sand in the air make for a no-horizon, milk bowl effect. It’s also difficult to see the ground with night vision goggles (NVGs) since there is zero illumination – no moon, stars or cultural lighting.” “You just can’t see a thing. It’s the most uncomfortable time that I’ve ever spent in an F-16,” Wolf says without a hint of a smile. It’s 30 March 2003, and Operation Iraqi Freedom is well underway. Somewhere in Iraq east of the Syrian border, a group of special forces soldiers are being quietly surrounded in the dead of night by a numerically superior force of Iraqi soldiers. No one could possibly have known that all hell was about to break loose. Linch and Wolf were nearing the end of their flight as “Honcho 23” when they started hearing urgent radio calls. “There’s no doubt from the tone of his voice that they need help right now. I get the shivers every time I think about that call and the sound of his voice.” Wolf admitted. They’re calling, “Fast Air! Fast Air! We are completely surrounded! The enemy is all around our position [heavy breathing], [they] have turned out all lights...”, then, “Fast Air! Fast Air! We need your help!” “Everything around us, within 300 meters, totally destroy! We are completely surrounded and they have all lights out!.” Until Honcho flight arrived on-scene, the men have been alone fighting a well-armed, vehicle-borne Iraqi force of some 500 men for 2-hours, without support! Exhibiting superior courage and heroism, Linch and Wolf descended below the ROE floor and executed a series of dangerous maneuvers under hostile conditions and extremely adverse weather to conduct attacks. Knowing they’d highlight themselves to the enemy defenses and drawing fire the entire time, they used flares to distract the enemy who had surrounded the friendly positions and were only 300 meters away. This afforded an opportunity for the ground team to escape and later be rescued. Linch and Wolf would go on to jointly receive the Joe Bill Dryden “Semper Viper” Award for airmanship skills from Lockheed Martin in 2003, and Linch would also receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism (with Valor device) and the 2003 Aviation Valor Award for his part in leading the mission. Linch admits, “I returned home with a new level of faith and I truly believe God gave us a second chance to live. Sometimes there’s a calling to live by faith and press. We pressed the limits of our jets and rules by flying in extremely unsafe conditions and we had to trust that God was guiding our hands. My hope is this story will inspire others to seek God first and then take the risk to help others in need knowing that God will provide them with salvation, guidance, love, hope and protection.”
“I was honored to receive several awards and decorations. These are a visual reminder of that night and the protection provided by God. All the credit goes to Him. Awards are also about family because my entire family took the risk to help the troops in need.” Unfortunately, Wolf was tragically killed in an automobile accident in November 2006…his spirit of flying fighters lives on and we’ll fly with him again in the heavens. I’m very Blessed for having the opportunity to be a fighter pilot in the USAF for 20 years as well as an airline pilot for Delta Air Lines. I also have fun flying experimental aerobatic aircraft such as the RV-4 and seaplanes. I’ve been a ham radio operator since 1978 and I credit ham radio for helping me become a pilot. God Bless You! 73, Ned
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