The Sconi

Green Bay Packers fans had plenty to celebrate during the team’s home opener at Lambeau Field.

In addition to a 27-10 beatdown over their longtime rival Chicago Bears, fans were treated to a piece of history in the form of the final flyover of the Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcon after more than 20-years of flights.

Col. Charlie Merkel is one of those who will be long savoring the moment.

“Being that it was a Bears game, it was nighttime or almost nighttime and the last fly-by made it pretty exciting,” Col. Merkel told WEAU.com.

Each season, the F-16 Fighting Falcons usually staged two flyovers over Lambeau, adding to an already electric atmosphere. The final flyover played out in a near dark stadium and felt extra special to the pilots who have long loved such a setting.

“Of course, and you get good feedback from it because people enjoy it and they send you video of it and, yeah, that was great, and sometimes you see footage of the players on the field, they appreciate it, and you hope that it gets the game kicked off on an exciting note,” Merkel added.

Having flown many of those flyovers, Merkel signed saying goodbye is emotional.

“They’re the jets we’ve been overseas with,“ he said. “They’ve carried us over the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean many times and safely, so as the pilots and crew chiefs and really the entire fighter wing you get kind of attached to those airplanes.”

Going forward, Merkel said the plan calls for the F-16s to be transferred to bases around the country that fly the same model as the next generation of fighter jets, known as the F-35 Lightning 11, arrives on the scene.

“We call the F-35 a fifth-generation fighter, meaning it’s got stealth, it’s got advanced sensors, it’s got electronic warfare built in, it networks with all the other airplanes that are airborne, and the capabilities are what we need for the future.”

The Wisconsin Air National Guard is set to receive 20 F-35s, with the first four arriving in May.