Flying hours to increase at AF Academy

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY— The Air Force Academy’s summer flying training operations will increase July 20-31.

Summer flying hours are Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the same hours the Academy flew last year during a similar time period.

Several high temperature days along with severe weather events forced the Academy to close its airfield on several occasions. To recover lost training requirements, the cadet soaring, parachute operations and powered flight programs will begin operations one hour earlier than their normal start time beginning Monday.

“In all of our flight operations, the safety of our aviators and the community is our top priority,” said Col. Joel DeBoer, commander of the 306th Flying Training Group.

Airmanship programs expose cadets to the fundamentals of flying and provide unique leadership and character development opportunities. More than 1,000 cadets participate in the Airmanship programs over the summer months. 

"As we work to train our future Air Force leaders here at the Academy, I'd like to express our sincere thanks to every member of our community here in Colorado Springs for continued support of our flying programs," DeBoer said.