Posted by Tom Roeder on June 30, 2007:

Rare aircraft will take part in funeral for fighter pilot By TOM ROEDER THE GAZETTE More than 1,000 mourners are expected at the Air Force Academy today for the funeral of legendary fighter pilot Brig. Gen. Robin Olds ? a ceremony that will bring an air show to the skies above Colorado Springs. Olds? funeral rites will include flyovers by several rare aircraft, including what could be the last formation of F-4 Phantom jets to be seen here. As the academy?s commandant, Olds led military training for the academy?s cadet wing from 1967-71 in the twilight of a military career during which he shot down 17 enemy planes in two wars. He died June 14 of congestive heart failure one month shy of his 85th birthday at his home in Steamboat Springs. The oldest planes in the formation will be four privately owned P-51 Mustangs, the World War II fighter plane in which Olds shot down some of his 13 air-to-air kills in the war. The flyover will include a pair of Lockheed T-33 Shooting Stars, which were the Air Force?s first jet fighters and were flown by Olds after the war, when he was a member of the Air Force?s first all-jet aerobatic team. There also will be a Russianbuilt MiG-17. Commanding a fighter wing in Thailand, Olds led missions over Vietnam and personally downed two MiG-17s and two MiG-21s. Some of the Air Force?s last F-4 Phantoms will take part in the flyover, with four from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The planes, which Olds flew in Vietnam, are primarily used as targeting drones. Last will be four modern F-16 fighters. After his Vietnam experience Olds pushed Air Force leaders to seek lighter, more maneuverable planes that could keep up with the MiGs. The flyovers will start shortly after Olds? graveside service begins at 12:15 p.m.

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