By STAN KASPRZYK

FlightLog Archive

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Aircraft Flown

Dakota Flyby-Moses Flight - June 2026

I had the great opportunity to lead an F-15 reunion in Minot, ND for members of the 5th Fighter Squadron in early June. The 5th Fighter Squadron only had Eagles at Minot AFB from late 1984 until 1988, when the squadron disbanded and the Eagles were dispersed to Air National Guard squadrons.

I had planned to fly my Warrior to the June reunion, but thunderstorms in the mountains of Idaho, Montana and North Dakota made me switch to the airlines. Two other former F-15 squadron pilots were able to bring their own birds, a Cessna 182 and a Bonanza A36, from Florida and Texas. I had coordinated with Warren Pietsch at the impressive Dakota Territory Air Museum about the best location for a memorial flyover, and he said he often does flybys right over his museum at the end of runway 31 at Minot (KMOT). We coordinated with Minot tower, who were very accommodating, helping deconflict airliner arrivals and allowing us to re-position as needed and to fly up initial after the memorial flyby.

Knowing we originally wanted at least a 3-ship, Warren volunteered to 'loan' me one of his Mooneys to stand-in for my Warrior. My former 5th Fighter Squadron ADO (Assistant Director of Operations), Ralph 'Root' Moser, pre-briefed the flight the day before. Root had earned a new callsign of 'Moses' later in his flying career, after 'parting the waters' with an errant bomb off an F-4 into a lake near the bombing range.

We launched as 'Moses' flight, with 'Root/Moses' leading in his 182 and Phil 'Lebeau' Nicholson as #2 in his Bonanza A36. I launched as #3 with Warren Pietsch in his green Mooney M20F. After lifting off, Warren said "It's your airplane, you fly the formation". I initially positioned us in trail behind the two-ship, but after a moment to get a feel for the Mooney, I easily slid into the left wing position, mirroring the spacing set by #2, and also providing for a more symmetrical flight as viewed from the ground. The flyby went perfectly, even with gusty winds and turbulence, with a Vic bomb burst as we flew the 3-ship over the reunion attendees, then returning to initial for a pitch out over the museum for landing. I had a great time flying with my former F-15 wingmen again, and with a warbird legend, Warren Pietsch!

We then joined the rest of our reunion F-15 pilots and spouses for photos by the F-15 on display outdoors, painted in 5th Fighter colors, followed by a private tour of the impressive Dakota Territory Air Museum, with 4 P-51s, 2 P-40s, a Spitfire, Hurricane, P-47, Wildcat, Harvard and multiple other Oshkosh award winners on display, plus another hangar full of classic and vintage civilian aircraft. It's an amazing collection, with almost all the birds flyable! Root, Lebeau and I also got a private tour of Warren's Thunderbird P-51, originally owned by Jimmy Stewart.

The nineteen former 5th Fighter Squadron F-15 pilots and spouses enjoyed an epic reunion, having a blast reminiscing and catching up on old friendships after 40 years. It was amazing how we could pick right up where we left off after all these years!