Air Force pilot with area ties is ‘top gun’ for Thunderbirds

FORT DAVIS, MARFA – When J. R. Williams graduated from Fort Davis High School in 1997, he knew he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a pilot, but he also knew he wanted to become a fighter pilot.

The son of Mary and John Williams of Marfa, J.R. is a Major in the U. S. Air Force and is one of a very elite group of fighter pilots.  He is a member of the U. S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, or the Thunderbirds. Williams is the lead solo, flying the No. 5 F-16 Fighting Falcon jet. Of the six Thunderbirds, he is easily spotted in the sky as the one usually flying upside down.

U.S. Air Force Maj. J.R. Williams, Thunderbird 5, lead solo pilot, and Capt. Blaine Jones, Thunderbird 6, opposing solo pilot, perform the Inverted Opposing Knife-Edge Pass during the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Air Expo on July 22. They’ll be at the Amigo Air Show in El Paso next week. Please see related story on page 8.

The Thunderbirds will be featured at the Amigo Airsho in El Paso the weekend of October 20^th and 21^st.  The show will be held at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss.  Gates will open at 10am each day with flying from 11am to 4pm. The Thunderbirds will perform last each day, with their precision ground show scheduled to start about 2-2:30pm.

The Thunderbirds have the honor of representing the nearly 700,000 active duty Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and Civilian Airmen across America and those deployed around the world. Flying wing tip to wing tip, sometimes only a few feet apart, the six Thunderbird pilots are sure to thrill, excite, and awe any and all in attendance at the air show.