LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- The first operational F-16A was delivered to the 388th TFW at Hill AFB, Utah, on January 6, 1979. The earliest F-16 student training was accomplished at Hill, and Capt. Edwin “Skip” Hopler was part of the initial cadre of F-16A instructors. He was one of the first 50 pilots to fly the F-16. Little did Skip know that he would become an integral part of all F-16 training for the next 40 years.
Tactical Air Command soon identified MacDill AFB in Florida to be the “schoolhouse” for the F-16. Starting in 1980, the 56th Tactical Training Wing at MacDill began to convert from the F-4D to F-16A/B aircraft, completing the transition in 1982. Lt. Col. Skip Hopler would become the commander of the 63rd Tactical Fighter Training Squadron at MacDill from June 1984 to May 1986.
The 58th TTW at Luke AFB, Arizona, was also identified as a future F-16 training wing. In April 1982, the 310th and 311th TFTSs at Luke began converting from the F-4C to the F-16A/B. The 310th TFTS began formal student training on February 2, 1983, and the 311th began student training shortly thereafter. A third squadron, the 312th TFTS, joined the wing in mid-1983. All three squadrons were flying the F-16A (block 10) aircraft. The 58th TTW was quickly growing. The 312th TFTS converted to the newer F-16C/D (block 25) in early 1986. A fourth squadron, the 314th TFTS, became operational in October 1986, also flying the F-16C/D.
TAC managed the F-16 student training at both MacDill and Luke. Classes were identified by sequential letters with two leading digits to indicated the fiscal year the training began. The last letter identified the base for the training. For example, class 83ATM would be the first transition (TX) course in fiscal year 1983, and it was at MacDill. The next TX class would be 83BTM. This identifying convention would continue in alphabetical sequence. When Luke began training, the last letter for courses there changed to an ‘L’. I attended class 83FTL with the 310th TFTS. This class started in July 1983, and it was the third TX class at Luke. The two TX classes that preceded my class consisted mostly of pilots who were transitioning from the F-4 to become F-16 instructors.
Following my training, I went to Kunsan Air Base in Korea for a year. I returned to Luke in December 1984 and completed an instructor course, again with the 310th. I was attached to the 311th TFTS for flying, but my primary job was chief of the Current Operations Division (DOO). This was a very busy job. The office managed the wing’s programmed flying training commitment in addition to managing the daily flying schedule and each squadron’s hour/sortie accomplishments. DOO was also where the “cats and dogs” of the wing were sent. These requests included static displays, flyovers, speaking to community groups, and many other flying activities that did not deal directly with student training.
At that time, there were two training wings at Luke. The 405th TTW was flying the F-15D, and it was the larger of the two wings. Besides having several F-15 equipped squadrons, the 405th also had the 425th TFTS at Williams AFB, Arizona. This squadron provided training in the F-5 for foreign pilots as part of the Military Assistance Program. Because of its size, the 405th was considered the host wing at Luke. The 58th was considered to be the tenant Wing. Both wings fell under operation command of the 832nd Air Division, which was also headquartered at Luke.
The DOO office consisted of myself, three other officers, and four enlisted personnel. In the 1980s, computers were in their infancy, and DOO had the only computer on base that was capable of managing the F-16 PFT for each squadron. By today’s standards, this computer program was very crude, but it was much better than manual calculations of sortie requirements to meet the TAC training needs. Each squadron was tasked with a PFT loading of approximately 85-87% of their annual sorties. When there was a change in the PFT, such as changing the number of students in a class or a short notice senior officer checkout, DOO had to recalculate the squadron PFT loading to ensure that it was balanced with the other squadrons. Sometimes we had to do some “horse trading” to keep the squadrons closely in balance. And that was my job. The enlisted folks crunched the numbers, and I did the negotiations with the affected Squadron Commanders. The remainder of the annual sorties were used for either cost of business or instructor pilot continuation training sorties. The squadrons wanted to maximize their CT sorties, using these sorties for participating in exercises, flying cross country missions or static displays, or a variety of other non-training events that were enjoyable to the instructors.
At some point in my time as DOO chief, the idea of inflight photography of all the Luke aircraft came up during an 832nd Air Division meeting. Personal cameras in the cockpit were strictly forbidden, but professional photographs of the Luke aircraft flying together sounded appealing. Our wing director of operations, Col. Joe Rively, offered to turn this desire into reality. Immediately after the meeting, he walked into my office and said he had a project for me. He and I worked well together, and he frequently walked in unannounced to discuss challenging projects. When he brought up the idea of inflight photography, I gladly accepted the challenge. Very few people knew that I had tried out for the Thunderbirds twice and that I was familiar with photo friendly formations. For years I had kept that tidbit very close to the chest. Now I had an opportunity to use that experience to preserve Luke AFB history.
The first call was to the Air Force Audio Visual Center at Norton AFB, California. I was able to schedule an Air Force photographer to fly in the rear cockpit of an F-16B for a two-day photoshoot. The second day would be a backup in case the weather cancelled the primary mission. The objective was to take pictures of the Luke flagships flying together in scenic locations around Arizona. Working with my counterpart in the 405th TTW, we scheduled the mission. An F-5 from Williams would be part of the formation. Both the 58th and the 405th had an 832nd Air Division flagship. Each aircraft would be leading the formation in separate photo shoots. The first half of the mission would be with the 58th TTW’s F-16 leading the formation, and the second half would be with the 405th TTW’s F-15 leading. The flagships and photo chase F-16B took off from Luke, and the F-5 joined the formation as it headed north to Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
I was flying the F-16B with the photographer from Norton in my back seat. My job was to choreograph the aircraft to fly in formation positions suitable for the camera. Flying in a photo shoot was very different than the normal formation positions the pilots were used to. The spacing between aircraft and the high stacking of the aircraft farthest from the camera needed to be precise to compose a balanced photograph of the four aircraft. The three dissimilar aircraft only complicated the formation as seen by the camera. From the individual pilot’s perspective, the formation positions seemed unnatural and uncomfortable to fly, but it was good for the picture. We practiced the formation on the way to Sedona, then we blended the beautiful red rock formations at Sedona with our aircraft formation. The photographer took nearly 500 pictures on this mission. This was before the introduction of digital cameras, so he had to reload rolls of film many times in the back seat. We wouldn’t see the results of the mission for nearly a month. The film was developed at Norton, and the photographer mailed me proof sheets to review. Col. Rively and I reviewed the proofs and selected the best ones for printing. The mission had been a success. We had captured and preserved an important part of Luke’s history.
We flew a second photo mission a few months later. Three F-16s flew in this mission, and we wanted to capture not only Arizona’s scenic beauty, but also an overflight of Sun Devil Stadium and the City of Glendale municipal building. This mission was also a success.
In early 1988, I decided to retire from the Air Force. I met with Col. Rively and informed him of this decision. I told him I had no interest in flying for the airlines, and he quickly had a comeback employment opportunity. He told me that the Air Force was laying the groundwork for contractor instruction in the classroom and the simulator. He suggested that I go to the academic building and speak with Mr. Cass Cassaro. I took his advice and went to speak with Cass. I learned that a company named Simuflite had been awarded the contract for instruction at both Luke and MacDill. He went on to say that Simuflite was looking for F-16 qualified instructor candidates. Cass suggested that if I was interested, he would forward my name to Simuflite to set up an interview. I took this information home, and my wife supported my desire to continue on at Luke in a contract instructor position.
The interview went well, and I could sense that Simuflite was very interested in offering me a job. I was the first candidate who had flown the F-16 at Luke. They told me that they had already made an offer to someone on the TAC staff at Langley AFB who was retiring shortly. That offer was to be the chief instructor at Luke.
They went on to say that if he declined the offer, they would offer the chief instructor position to me. Little did I know that the person at Langley they were referring to was Lt. Col. Edwin A. “Skip” Hopler.
Skip accepted the position, and Simuflite made me an offer to join him in a similar management position. I joined Skip as one of the “founding fathers” of contract instruction at Luke. I spent 27 more years at Luke, and it was both meaningful and personally rewarding to be a part of the continually changing F-16 era. Skip went on to become the program manager for F-16 and F-35 training at Luke.
Significant changes occurred on October 1, 1991. The 58th TTW was redesignated as the 58th Fighter Wing, the 405th TTW was deactivated, and three F-15 squadrons moved to the 58th FW. All of the fighter training squadrons were reassigned to the new 58th Operations Group. The seven training squadrons, previously designated as tactical fighter training squadrons, were redesignated as "fighter squadrons.” This was phase one of sewing on new patches for flight suits and uniforms.
On June 1, 1992, Tactical Air Command was inactivated and was replaced by Air Combat Command. ACC assumed jurisdiction of Luke AFB. Everyone at Luke again changed the patches on their uniforms. They soon learned that even more changes were coming, and they would be sewing on new patches once again.
The 1991 Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) ordered that all flying activities cease at MacDill AFB by 1993. As a result of this decision, MacDill’s F-16 training mission and the 56th FW would be moved to Luke.
On April 1, 1994, the 58th FW was replaced by the 56th FW as part of the Air Force Heritage Program. With this reassignment, jurisdiction of Luke AFB was transferred to Air Education and Training Command, as a result of the Air Force decision to consolidate all Air Force training programs under AETC. The 56th OG assumed control over the four fighter squadrons from the 58th FW and three additional fighter squadrons that transferred from MacDill. The F-15 fighter squadrons at Luke were transferred to other locations.
Luke served as the singular F-16 training base for over 20 years. On March 31, 2011, the Air Force announced that the F-35 would be replacing the F-16 as the primary aircraft at Luke. It was later announced that a total of 144 F-35s would be based at Luke. F-16 training would be moved to Holloman AFB, New Mexico. The 311th FS was the first squadron to move to Holloman. It was activated there on March 1, 2014. The 314th FS was activated at Holloman on July 14, 2015.
The first F-35 arrived at Luke on March 10, 2014. F-16 training continued at Luke on a reduced level with the 54th OG at Holloman gradually assuming more of the training responsibility.
The 56th FW graduated its last F-16 class in September of 2024, and all USAF F-16 student training officially ended on October 31. A minimal amount of F-16 flying is scheduled to continue until March 31, 2025. A celebration honoring the F-16 era at Luke will be held on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Lt. Col. Edwin A. “Skip” Hopler passed away on May 19, 2023. He had been an F-16 instructor at Hill. MacDill, and Luke. On March 29, 2024, the F-16 and F-35 academic and simulator training facility at Luke was renamed the Skip Hopler Fighter Training Center in remembrance of his abundant contributions in training the world’s greatest fighter pilots.
Retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Cox was commissioned into the Air Force in 1967 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. He was a career fighter pilot. Flying the F-105, F-111, and F-16. While flying the F-105 at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, he completed 151 combat missions during the Vietnam conflict. He returned to Takhli several years later and completed 74 additional combat missions in the F-111. Following his time in uniform, Cox supported fighter pilot training at Luke for nearly 27 years as a civilian contract instructor.