Air Guard Pilot Hits 1,000 Flight Hours in F-22

Lt. Col. Michael Schaner recently became the first Air National Guard pilot to amass 1,000 flight hours in the F-22, and the third Raptor pilot overall to achieve this feat, according to a release from JB Langley-Eustis, Va. Schaner, assistant director of operations for the Virginia Air Guard’s 149th Fighter Squadron at Langley, reached this milestone during a flight in December, states the base’s Feb. 13 release. “Surpassing 1,000 hours in the cockpit of the Raptor was no easy feat,” said Schaner. “I am fortunate to work with the professionals I do here at Langley,” he said. Schaner joined the Air Force in 1999 after graduating college and flew F-15s prior to transitioning to the F-22. He became an Air Guardsman in 2009. Schaner is “the resident expert here at Langley on systems, tactics, and the conduit to our robust relationship” with Langley’s Active Duty 1st Fighter Wing, said Col. William Butz, commander of the Virginia Air Guard’s 192nd Operations Group. (Langley report by Capt. Craig Carper)