Two RCAF pilots earned high honours in the U.S. recently. Capt. Chris “Lime” Swartz graduated from the U.S. Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) program, better known as TOPGUN. Meanwhile Maj. Maciej “Match” Hatta has graduated from the U.S. Air Force’s Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Swartz is on exchange with the Navy and flying F/A-18 Super Hornets after flying CF-18 Hornets at Bagotville and on deployment to Operation Assurance in Gemany and Operation Impact in Kuwait. He most recently served on the USS Abraham Lincoln during a 10-month operational deployment before going to TOPGUN. Hatta was a well-known member of the Snowbirds who developed the “tank cam,” a housing for a sports camera on the oil smoke tank of the Tudor that allows the capture of spectacular in-flight videos.