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AMC commander talks on AF history at Fairchild

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st. Class Natasha E. Stannard
  • Public Affairs 92nd Air Refueling Wing
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Former commander of the 92nd Air Refueling wing Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, commander of Air Mobility Command, and his wife Christine Lichte will be here in support of the Air Force Ball and the 80th anniversary of the flight of the Spokane Sun-God. 

Distinguished visitor General Lichte is a command pilot with more that 5,000 flying hours in various aircraft including the KC-135. He has held command positions at squadron, group and wing levels. From Aug. 1995 to Nov.1996, General Lichte held the position of 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander here at Fairchild. General Lichte has held headquarters-level assignments at Strategic Air Command, Air Mobility Command, Headquarters U.S. Air Force and U.S. Transportation Command. 

The Air Force Ball is an annual Air Force-wide tradition that celebrates the heritage and history of the Air Force. Fairchild Air Force Base celebrates the 62nd annual Air Force Ball recognizing 80 years of air refueling excellence and 85th anniversary of the Washington Air National Guard Aug. 22. 

As well as celebrating the Air Force's heritage and legacy, Team Fairchild along with distinguished visitors will also be celebrating the legacy of the Flight of the Spokane Sun-God Aug. 21. 

According to Daniel Simmons, 92nd Air Refueling Wing historian, the Spokane Sun-God, a Buhl CA-6 aircraft, was the first airplane to make a non-stop transcontinental round-trip flight, which required 11 mid-air refuelings. 

Pilots Nick Mamer and Art Walker piloted the flight. The pilots flew the Sun-God from Spokane, Wash., to San Francisco, Calif., to New York, back to Spokane, Wash. The flight took off at Felts Field, Spokane, Aug. 15, 1929. The Sun-God flew 7,200 point-to-point miles in five days, setting the world's distance record for a non-stop flight, Simmons said. 

The pilots encountered a few set backs on the return trip to Spokane, but they didn't let that discourage them. They encountered bad weather in Pennsylvania, intense smoke from forest fires in Montana and also developed engine problems, Simmons said. 

To respond to the unforeseen problems, the pilots had to drop notes to people on the ground or tie messages to the end of the refueling hose because there was no air to ground radio established. Residents of Miles City, Mont., received dropped notes from the pilots and helped them complete their mission by sending up an aircraft equipped with five-gallon milk cans filled with fuel to refuel the Sun-God, Simmons said. 

This historical flight will be relaunched here Aug. 21 as the Flight of the Sun-God II. In commemoration of this historic event and the Air Force ball, distinguished visitors Cathy Mcmorris-Rodgers, U.S. representative from the 5th district, and her husband, retired Commander Brian Rodgers; Mary Verner, mayor of Spokane; General and Mrs. Lichte; Lieutenant Gen. Robert Allardice, 18th Air Force commander; Brigadier Gen. Gary Magonigle, assistant adjutant general also serving as Washington Air National Guard Commander, and his wife Kathy Magonigle; and Staff Sgt. Ronnie Paxson, Vietnam War Purple Heart Recipient; along with former 92nd Air Refueling Wing and 92nd Bomb Wing commanders, vice wing commanders and group commanders; Command Chief Master Sergeants within the Air Mobility command; local mayors, state representatives, and councilmen; will be here to pay homage to the Air Force, the Air National Guard, air refueling excellence and the historic flight made 80 years ago.