Midshipmen paint academy plane as prank before game

Colleges and Universities A-Z Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs
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<p><a href=“http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1310988&secid=1[/url]”>http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1310988&secid=1</a></p>

<p>Midshipmen paint academy plane as prank before game </p>

<p>By TOM ROEDER THE GAZETTE </p>

<p>Annapolis pranksters painted a vintage plane at the Air Force Academy in Navy Blue Angels colors, cadets discovered Tuesday morning. </p>

<p>The incident, pulled off by a dozen U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen in an exchange-student program at the academy, precedes a Saturday football game between the two schools at Annapolis, Md. </p>

<p>The prank, done with paint that could be washed off, was met with bemused tolerance. </p>

<p>“The cadets here will get their just revenge when we beat Navy this weekend,” pledged academy spokesman Lt. Col. Laurent Fox. </p>

<p>Fox said academy bosses aren’t hunting down the miscreants because they took obvious pains to not damage the plane they painted in the blue and yellow colors of the famous Navy flying team. </p>

<p>“These kinds of activities have been going on for 50 years,” Fox said. </p>

<p>It’s the biggest pre-game prank by the midshipmen since 1991, when they changed the giant lettering in Falcon Stadium to read “Air Farce.” </p>

<p>The plane involved, an F-4 Phantom, is an icon for cadets. It was flown in Vietnam by academy graduate Steve Ritchie, whose five air-to-air victories in the plane make him the school’s only ace. </p>

<p>F-4s were used by the Navy during the 1960s and ’70s, and flown by the Blue Angels. </p>

<p>The midshipmen, among roughly two dozen students from other service academies in the exchange program, restored the plane Tuesday to its green and brown Air Force paint job, Fox said. </p>

<p>Air Force has exchange students in Annapolis, Fox said. “I imagine they’ll be hearing about this.”</p>

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<p>There's a couple of good pix on Edodo of the plane. They did a great job. Good spirit mission.</p>

<p>There's also pix of the payback to the mids at AFA - strategically placed raw squid. Yum. What a stink.</p>

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<p>kind of funny seeing it as we went to breakfast, but they were out all day cleaning that up, as well as the "NAVY '-7" that they'd painted on the terrazo and Mitchell Hall...</p>

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<p>This is a tradition and is expected. I know an Air Force cadet at Navy and he told me, "As you may already know, this coming week is AF/Navy week so there is going to be a lot painting of AF all over base, plus wars between me and the freshmen."</p>

<p>They just try and out-do what happens at their home academy I think.</p>

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<p>Thats cool that there was the respect to make it in good fun with out damaging and better that the people at AFA didnt get offended or start a big to-do.</p>

<p>I know a funny rivalry between air force and navy is when the recruiters call. I tell them i am applying to the AFA and they ask why not to naval academy. I tell them i want to fly and most will say navy flies too but one recruiter said "You know, navy has better and more pilots than the air force."</p>

<p>I mentioned this in conversation with my ALO and he responded "Why better? Cause they dont have to flare when they land?"</p>

<p>Good, clean rivaly is always fun.</p>

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<p>We're big Zoomie Rugby fans - hope they get some satisfaction this weekend as well.</p>

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<p>Here are links to two nice pictures of the "color-coordinated" jet.</p>

<p><a href="http://img310.imageshack.us/my.php?image=f4bluelarge1ug.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://img310.imageshack.us/my.php?image=f4bluelarge1ug.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?image=f4blue2large9mh.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?image=f4blue2large9mh.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Edodo has a picture of one of the mids with "AF" shaved into his head. Too funny....</p>

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<p>Not really on topic but I need to add to snipper's comments. Navy_Hornet was talking to the Blue and Gold Officer and Air Force Liason Officer at a recent Academy Day. They were both competing for her and the BGO said "We have better pilots because Air Force gives you 18,000 feet to land in and we give you 800 feet and move it around.</p>

<p>Gotta love that Blue Angel's F4.</p>

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<p>Some of the mids at the Naval Academy have been charged with disciplinary offenses for shaving an "N" in an Air Force Academy Cadet's hair. The cadet had even given them permission to do it! I would really appreciate it if you would send a picture of the "AF" that was shaved into the mid's hair. Please send it to <a href="mailto:docbaxter@pol.net">docbaxter@pol.net</a>. We just want to submit it to show that this is the kind of thing that is done every year.</p>

<p>Thanks very much.</p>

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<p>Unfortunately, the thread on edodo that had the pic of the mid with "AF" shaved into his head is gone.</p>

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<p>the midshipmen couldn't have picked a worst plane to do... </p>

<p>the plane they painted was the only plane on the t-zo with actual combat experience (the last plane to score an ace) </p>

<p>it was flown by a brigadier general, so as you can tell the academy wasn't too thrilled... </p>

<p>anyway.. I know alot of the zoomies got the midshipmeni back (e.g. some dumped dead squid in the midshipmen's room.... a bunch "borrowed" thier uniform and wore it around all day etc...the sweetest revenge would have been to win the game but... there's always next year)</p>

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<p>It was actually flown by Captain Steve Richie, USAFA class of 1964. That F-4 is credited with 6 kills. Cpt. Richie got his 1st and 5th kills in it.</p>

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<p>Someone studied their ProBook this week! ;)</p>

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<p>Heheh...85 on the k-test</p>

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<p>Wing average was 83.3, so not bad!</p>