MONTPELIER, Vt. — Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is pushing to have the nation's longest flying F-16 put on permanent display rather than cut up for scrap when it's retired from service.
Aircraft No. 1165, known among the Vermont Air National Guard as the "Lethal Lady," recently became the nation's first Air Force F-16 with 7,000 flying hours.
The aircraft has flown missions in Iraq and Southwest Asia during its 25-year career.
At the end of 2008 the F-16 will be grounded for good, at the "Bone Yard" _ the Air Force's aviation graveyard, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.
In a letter to the Air Force on Monday, Leahy, co-chair of the Senate's National Guard Caucus, said it would be better to put the aircraft on display at the Vermont Guard or at the National Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
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"The Lethal Lady has clocked record-setting hours and saved the lives of soldiers and Marines in combat, setting new tactical standards," Leahy wrote. "This aircraft and the aircrew and maintainers who helped keep it flying and capable stand as a symbol of the dedication, endurance and values of the Air National Guard and the entire Air Force."
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