This is from the good ol' boys at airfighters.com.
"LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE - At 9:22 a.m. Wednesday morning, six F-15 Eagles took off from Langley Air Force Base, marking the first time in 44 days the planes have flown since a C model plane from Missouri broke apart in mid-air during a simulated dogfight.
That's good news for national security.
Residents around the Hampton base, though, may notice some extra planes in the air and additional noise.
Returning the Eagles to flying status returns all three of Langley's fighter squadrons, two F-22A Raptor squadrons and one Eagle squadron, to the skies.
Also, because the Eagles were grounded for so long, pilots lost their flying qualifications.
While the pilots spent time in a flight simulator and in the classroom during the grounding, a Langley spokesman said, renewing flight qualifications has to be done in the air.
The Eagle fleet was grounded in November after an Air National Guard's C model F-15 "experienced catastrophic structural failure" and broke apart in flight during a simulated dogfight in Missouri, the Air Force said.
Newer Eagle models resumed flying shortly after the accident. But it wasn't until Tuesday that Air Combat Command cleared 60 percent of the F-15 A - D model planes to fly. Ten of Langley's 20 Eagles are scheduled to fly Wednesday. The remaining planes are still being inspected.
The command, which is headquartered at Langley and oversees the service's fighters and bombers, "recommended a limited return to flight for Air Force units worldwide following engineering risk assessments and…multiple fleet wide inspections, " according to a press release.
"The priority in resuming operations for a portion of the F-15 fleet is the defense of our nation - America deserves nothing less," said Air Force Gen. John D.W. Corley, head of Air Combat Command.
Corley made the decision to return the planes to flying status following a detailed briefing he received late last week on the investigation results of the Missouri incident and fleet maintenance inspections.
The investigation showed that the National Guard plane broke apart in mid-air as a result of a fault in a support beam, called a longeron. "Inspections have discovered nine other aircraft with longeron failure cracks," according to the Air Force. "Approximately 40 percent of inspected aircraft have at least one longeron that does not meet blueprint specifications."
So, I think this is a good time to say... "I feel the need... the need for speed!"