Lingering Questions

Jim over at AbeLog has posted an interesting question:

What will we call the 183rd Fighter Wing when it doesn't have fighters and it doesn't have wings anymore?

As one of his commenters says, the military will come up with something. But the larger point here is this: The 183rd is being dissolved. Once the planes, their pilots and support crews move to Indiana, the 183rd exists no more. The military routinely dissolves units to meet its operational needs. The 183rd will soon just be a part of Springfield history. The units that remain and are added to the bases at Capital Airport will have their own designations.

I do, however, have some questions of my own.

What about Air Rendezvous? Will not having the facilities for an active flying unit hinder the airport's ability to but on an air show that always includes military aircraft. Obviously, the 183rd's portion of the annual air show will be lost forever but what about the other (military) participants who used the 183rd's facilities?

How much does this hurt the airport? I assume the presence of the 183rd contributed greatly to the economic vitality of Capital Airport. Even with the 183rd, the airport has often teetered on, if not insolvency then irrelevancy due to lack of commercial use. Right now it seems to be doing alright with its commercial flights but it has not always been so and I just wonder if not having the 183rd the airport might not survive the next crisis.

Why have an engine repair facility here? How is it that it wasn't cost effective to have jets flying out of Springfield but it is cost effective to put in an engine repair facility that repairs engines from planes that aren't here? I don't know what kind of engines are going to be repaired but the are going to have to be trucked or flown in and out. It would seem more cost efficient to repair the engines where the planes are.

Will we ever have a flying unit here again? Sadly, I think the answer to that is almost certainly "no". The Air Force is getting rid of older aircraft to make room for newer models. The newer planes are more versatile and more expensive so the Air Force will be utilizing fewer planes overall and that has a trickle down effect on the Air National Guard units.