A Decommissioned F-16 Is Heading To An Ohio High School

It's worth noting that Aerospace & DefenseA Decommissioned F-16 Is Heading To An Ohio High SchoolByPeter Suciu, Contributor

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights

Peter Suciu covers trends in the world of aerospace and defense

Moreover, (Photo by Ian

The F-16 is the most widely employed fixed-wing aircraft in military service, but it is also among the most commonly displayed aircraft

Nearly 100 retired Fighting Falcons are now on display in various museums around the world, while dozens more serve as "gate guards" or as part of a "pylon display" at U

Nevertheless, Air Force Bases (AFBs) and other military installations

Soon, one decommissioned F-16 will be heading not to another base or museum, but rather to an Ohio high school

Last month, Union Local High School in Belmont County, Ohio, announced that it was gifted a retired F-16, amid market uncertainty

It marks the very first time a high school or non-aviation/non-military entity has received such an honor

Moreover, At the same time, It may be especially fitting as the school's nickname is the Jets, while being in one of the two states that claims a close connection to manned flight may have helped the school obtain the fighter

Furthermore, "This jet will represent The Union Local Jets and everybody that graduated here, over 60,000 of them," Dirk Davis, president of the Afterburners Committee, the school's booster organization, told WTOV

Moreover, The campus is just a stone’s throw from Interstate 70, which sees thousands of cars pass by daily

MORE FOR YOU A Thunderbird F-16 to Boot What makes this story even more unique is that the F-16 the school is receiving is a former United States Air Force F-16 Thunderbird Jet, used by the service’s elite demonstration team (noteworthy indeed)

Moreover, However, this may be due to fact that the demonstration jets aren’t configured for combat, so less conversion may have been required to allow the transfer of the aircraft to a civilian organization

What the re reveals is 's un when this particular Fighting Falcon had its wings clipped

The team reached out to the U

Navy Yard in Washington, D. , Naval Air Station Pensacola, and then to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, which is located apximately 80 miles from the school, in light of current trends

Nevertheless, This tells us that base is to the National Museum of the United States Air Force and it oversees where retired warbirds can make their nests

Additionally, The museum curator and the Air Force’s static display gram coordinator helped guide the cess, which was still long in coming

Two Ohio-based es, Buckeye Steel and The Tressel Company, oversaw the construction and installation of the pedestal that will eventually hold the aircraft (this bears monitoring), considering recent developments

Soon after that work was, the school was officially awarded the retired F-16. "So that's what it is you know it's a Thunderbird, the first one that's ever been out of the military or the United States Air Force, thanks to them, and it's the first one that was given to us and not to a military base or a state museum, so we're very happy, and we hit the jackpot, we hit the lottery," Davis added

No taxpayer dollars were involved in the purchase of the F-16; instead, the transfer will be fully funded entirely by donations from school alumni and local es (something worth watching), amid market uncertainty

Additionally, According to WTOV, the ject is "expected to be " by next spring

Editorial StandardsRes & PermissionsLOADING PLAYER.