Lt. Col. David Piffarerio, commander of Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, became the first pilot to reach 1,000 flight hours in the F-22 Raptor during a mission on 4 November 2011. SSgt. Hank Robinson, 525th Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, launched Piffarerio on the milestone sortie. Piffarerio was a part of the initial cadre that stood up the 302nd FS parent unit, the 477th Fighter Group, in 2007. Piffarerio previously served thirteen years on active duty in a variety of F-15E and F-22 assignments. After being selected in 2002 as an initial cadre member to test the F-22 during follow-on evaluations, he served as program manager and F-22 test director at Nellis AFB, Nevada.
