Polson man comes home - at 350 miles per hour
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MISSION VALLEY- Air Force Captain and fighter jet pilot Clay Bird will be one of two pilots participating in a Mission Valley fly-over this Fourth of July.
Bird joined the Air Force in December of 1995 and is currently stationed in Great Falls with Montana’s Air National Guard. He has attempted two such fly-bys in the past, but both missions were aborted - one due to poor weather conditions and the other due to mechanical problems. After almost 17 years in service, this year’s 300-knot fly-by at 1,000 feet will be his first, and it will be over his home, the Mission Valley.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Bird said. “I’m originally from Polson, so I want to get in that valley and do the fly-by on the fourth of July.”
Bird will fly one of two F-15C fighter jets from the 120th Fighter Wing in Great Falls. According to the United States Air Force website, the F-15C Eagle is a single seat fighter jet with a dizzying combination of speed, weapons and technology worth just under $30 million. According to the Air Force’s website, “The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield.”
The jet’s primary function is as a tactical fighter. It weights 31,700 pounds, has a wingspan of 42.8 feet, a range of 3,450 miles and a top speed of 1,875 miles per hour. As for firepower, it can carry plenty: “One internally-mounted M-61A1 20mm 20-mm, six-barrel cannon with 940 rounds of ammunition; four AIM-9 Sidewinder and four AIM-120 AMRAAMs or eight AIM-120 AMRAAMs, carried externally.”
Bird said it’s a complex and time consuming process to get approval for a fly-by, but it’s all worth it. For a community to get approved for a fly-by, they must to go online and submit a request to the Air Force public affairs office. The request must be signed by two community members; these tend to be the event organizer and the mayor.
Once signed, community members need to fax the form to the Flight Standards Office in Helena for approval. Once approved, it’s faxed back to the original sender, who must fax the completed form back to the Air Force public affairs office.
“Once they have those, the public affairs office will either approve or disapprove it. If it’s approved, it will show up on the website for Air Force squadrons to decide if they want to do it,” Bird said.
As the Fourth of July is a national holiday, both the pilots and maintenance staff must volunteer to give up a part of their family time to make the fly-by a sucess. Four crew chiefs will take time away from friends and family, arriving several hours prior to the takeoff, to do a pre-flight and post-flight inspection and launch procedures. This will ensure the aircraft is ready to fly.
“You have to have someone say, “Yea, I’m willing to take time out of my day with my family and do this,’” Bird said.
Flight times are not exact, as unforeseen delays may require a longer fuel burn and holding pattern. Three possible times when residents should start looking up are listed below.
“The earliest times that we could show up are based off a continuous non-stop flow with no delays,” he said. “Remember, these are the earliest times that you may see us.”
Plan A: Earliest Times - Great Falls 11:00 am, Choteau 11:05 am, Kalispell 11:16 am, Troy 11:24 am, Bigfork 11:33 am, Big Arm 11:35, am Polson 11:36 am, Arlee 11:40 am, Seeley Lake 11:43 am, Georgetown Lake 11:50 am.
Plan B: More Realistic times - Great Falls 11:00 am, Choteau 11:07 am, Kalispell 11:25 am, Troy 11:38 am, Bigfork 11:50 am, Big Arm 11:55 am, Polson 11:57 am, Arlee 12:05 pm, Seeley Lake 12:15 pm, Georgetown Lake 12:30 pm.
Plan C: Latest Times - Great Falls 11:00 am, Choteau 11:10 am, Kalispell 11:30 am, Troy 11:50 am, Bigfork 12:10 pm, Big Arm 12:18 pm, Polson 12:20 pm, Arlee 12:30 pm, Seeley Lake 12:45 pm, Georgetown Lake 1 pm.
Interview with Captain Clay Bird
VJ: What’s your favorite part of flying?
BIRD: My favorite part of flying is just that, flying. Being airborne and being able to fly. Having the opportunity too. I also like basic fighter maneuvers. It’s when you’re up close simulating a visual engagement, when you’re trying to maneuver into a position and simulate shooting at the guy.
VJ: Have you ever lost?
BIRD: Yes. (laughs) You win some and you lose some.
VJ: What is your favorite aircraft?
BIRD: The F-15C. It’s got two engines and it’s a fighter aircraft. It’s got a lot of power and it’s fun to fly.
VJ: What do your friends and family think of the fly-over?
BIRD: I think they’re pretty excited. I know my wife is looking forward to seeing the jets fly by; they’re excited.
(Reporter’s note: Capt. Bird spends a large amount of his working life in the cramped cockpit of a jet-fueled demon-hawk. The F-15C Fighter Jet is capable of traveling twice the speed of sound and reaching altitudes of 65,000 feet. Each engine puts out more than 23,000 pounds of thrust. To put it simply, the F-15C is raw power. And it has guns. It takes a special kind of person to wield that much power, and an incredible individual to use that power to defend others. As any Spiderman fan will tell you, with great power comes great responsibility. Having spoken with Capt. Bird on several occasions, I don’t believe I’d rather have anyone else protecting me and my freedom from the skies above. On behalf of everyone here at the Valley Journal, we’d like to thank all veterans for our freedom: active duty, retired, and deceased. Happy Fourth of July, and God bless.)
