Pilot for a Day

Noah Gifford, 10, tries out the jumpmaster chair in the back of a C-130J Super Hercules at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 24. Gifford was selected as the 36th AS's pilot for a day and given as close to a real pilot's experience as possible, covering everything from the formation mission brief to the flight checklist of the C-130J Super Hercules.

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Pilot for a Day

Maj. Frank Zientek, 374th Operations Group director of Operations, taxis a Yokota Aeroclub Cessna 172 down the Yokota Air Base flightline with Noah Gifford, 10, and his mother, Stephanie Gifford on board, May 24. As the 36th Airlift Squadron's pilot for a day, Gifford was given a full tour of the squadron, ending in a night flight over Tokyo.

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Pilot for a Day

Maj. Frank Zientek, 374th Operations Group director of Operations, explains the controls of a C-130J Super Hercules cockpit on the Yokota Air Base, Japan flightline, May 24, to Noah Gifford, 10, who was selected as the 36th Airlift Squadron's pilot for a day and his parents, Lt. Col. Tom Gifford, 374th Medical group Otolaryngology officer in charge, and Stephanie Gifford.

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Pilot for a Day

From left to right, Stephanie Gifford, Samantha Gifford, 9, and Noah Gifford, 10, wait while Maj. Frank Zientek, 374th Operations Group director of Operations prepares a Cessna 172 on the Yokota Air Base flightline, May 24. Zientek took the Giffords up for a night flight over Tokyo starting at sunset. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kyle Johnson/Released)

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Pilot for a Day

Noah Gifford, 10, sits in the cockpit of a C-130J Super Hercules on the Yokota Air Base, Japan flightline, with 1st Lt. Scott McClelland, a pilot assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, May 24. Gifford was given as close to the full pre-flight experience as possible for the C-130J before flying in a aeroclub-owned Cessna 172.

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Pilot for a Day

Noah Gifford, 10, walks toward a C-130J Super Hercules as if he were a pilot leaving for a mission while Maj. Frank Zientek, 374th Operations Group director of Operations takes video on the Yokota Air Base, Japan flightline. Gifford was selected as the 36th AS's pilot for a day and given as close to a real pilot's experience as possible, covering everything from the formation mission brief to the flight checklist of the C-130J Super Hercules.

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Pilot for a Day

Noah Gifford, 10, tries on night vision goggles for the first time in the 36th Airlift Squadron's equipment room at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 24. As the pilot for a day, Gifford was given a full tour of all the things a pilot may need to do during a normal flight day.

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Pilot for a Day

Maj. Frank Zientek, 374th Operations Group director of Operations, introduces Noah Gifford, 10, and his mother, Stephanie Gifford to the 36th Airlift Squadron in the squadron's heritage room at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 24. Gifford was selected as the 36th AS's pilot for a day and given as close to a real pilot's experience as possible, covering everything from the formation mission brief to the flight checklist of the C-130J Super Hercules.

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Pilot for a Day

Noah Gifford, 10, reads the documents he was provided during a formation mission brief at the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 24, as part of the 36th AS's reinstated Pilot for a Day program. Gifford's parents are Lt Col Tom Gifford, 374th Medical Group's officer in charge of Otolaryngology and Stephanie Gifford.

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36th Airlift Squadron Pilot for a Day reinstated

Published June 5, 2019
By Staff Sgt. Kyle Johnson
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Noah Gifford, 10, tries out the jumpmaster chair in the back of a C-130J Super Hercules at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 24. Gifford was selected as the 36th AS's pilot for a day and given as close to a real pilot's experience as possible, covering everything from the formation mission brief to the flight checklist of the C-130J Super Hercules.