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Hill ART breaks F-16 flight-hours record

Somewhere in the sky south of Kirkuk, Iraq, on Friday, Lt. Col. Michael Brill flew past an aviation milestone.

Brill became the first pilot to log 6,000 hours in F-16 cockpits, a feat that took 28 years and about 4,000 sorties.

That’s 28 years of avoiding desk assignments, making high-G turns, serving on deployments and loving your job

Brill, age 50 and a full-time Air Reserve Technician with the 419th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the first to say he’d rather fly than worry about moving up in rank or getting a plum staff assignment — jobs that would take him out of the cockpit.

“If I was a cowboy, I’d rather be on the horse,” explains Brill

Brill broke the 6,000-hour mark as his jet was taking on fuel from a KC-135 tanker and halfway through a sortie over Iraq flying presence patrols and using the F-16’s targeting-pod camera to watch for insurgents planting roadside bombs. His wingman for the flight out of Balad Air Base was Brig. Gen. Burt Field. The two pilots have known each other since attending the Air Force Academy together as members of the 1979 graduating class.

Brill’s record is likely to stand for quite a while. Only one other F-16 flyer, an Air National Guard pilot, is within striking distance of 6,000 hours. Brill has no thoughts of leaving the cockpit until he turns 56 and Air Force age limits prevent him from piloting fighters.

Until then, Brill keeps focused on the next sortie. “My most challenging flight is always the next flight,” Brill said. “You’ve got to keep your head in the game.”