On November 19 and 20, 1992, the artist was privileged to participate In the Close Air Support Phase of The USAF F-16 Fighter Weapons School of the, 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada to experience Tactics and Weapons Delivery using the LANTIRN System and Precision Guided Munitions. The oil painting shows the LANTIRN and Guided Munition equipped F-16Cs of Snake Flight?s Leader and Wingman as the flight begins Its turn West over the Southern end of Dog Bone dry lake at the direction of Forward Air Controllers in the target area. It has been interesting to watch the F-16 begin to look like a ?formation? of wall-to-wall fuel tanks, Navigation and Targeting Pods, Laser Guided Bombs, and Aim-9l/M Missiles. I have omitted the AlQ-131 Jamming Pod on the centerline station and four AIM- 120 AMRAAM Air-to-Air Missiles carried on outboard pylons. My instructor pilot on this mission was, then Captain, Ron Garan who, 16 years later was to spend 20 hours and 32 minutes of EVA in three space walks on Shuttle Mission STS-124. Three years later on April 4, 2011 Ron launched from Kazakhstan on SoyuzTMA-21 for the International Space Station where he remained in space for six months, again performing impressive space walks installing equipment before returning to earth in September 2011.
