JJ “Yank” Cummings returns to the Fighter Pilot Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on F-14 Tomcats, carrier aviation, Top Gun: Maverick, and the rapidly approaching age of autonomous air combat. From war stories over Afghanistan to his work with Shield AI, Yank brings a rare blend of cockpit credibility, command experience, and forward-looking insight. This one is about more than airplanes; it’s about trust, technology, leadership, tomorrow’s war, and, somehow… robot cats.

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What does it take to lead when the mission is hard, the stakes are life-and-death, and nobody is watching?

In this extraordinary episode, Tucker Hamilton sits down with two of the most consequential figures in modern Air Force history — General (Ret.) David Goldfein, former Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and Dr. Heather Wilson, former Secretary of the Air Force and current President of UTEP — Air Force Academy classmates who reunited at the Pentagon 35 years after their cadet days to write Get Back Up: Lessons in Servant Leadership.

From Goldfein's F-16 shoot-down over Serbia to Wilson's battles on Capitol Hill and in the halls of the Pentagon, they have lived the kind of leadership not taught in classrooms — the kind forged in adversity, shaped by humility, and proven under pressure.

In this conversation, they unpack what servant leadership actually looks like when the cost is real, why the most powerful leaders are the ones who put others first, and what the next generation of leaders needs to hear right now.

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The AV-8B Harrier is one of the most demanding, iconic, and battle-proven aircraft in military aviation history. Now, as the Harrier era draws to a close, one squadron remains to carry the torch: VMA-223, the Great American Bulldogs.

In this episode, Cinco sits down with the commanding officer (Traper) and executive officer (Porky) of the last AV-8B Harrier squadron to talk about the jet, the mission, the culture, and what it means to write the final chapter of an extraordinary community. This is a conversation about legacy, leadership, and the kind of airplane that shaped the aviators who flew it.

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With the successful launch of Artemis II and NASA's return to the moon six decades later, we thought this a good time to dust off episode 189 from April 2024 featuring Reid "Tonto" Wiseman, mission commander.

Godspeed, astronauts!

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At some point, talent is no longer enough. The same is true for preparation, intelligence, and ambition. What remains is the final margin—that last 20% where discipline, resilience, balance, and character decide the outcome.

In this episode, Jell-O sits down with Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton to discuss his upcoming book, Unlocking the Last 20%. Through stories from fighter aviation, combat, flight test, leadership, and the rise of AI, Cinco explores what it means to perform under pressure, lead with clarity, and become the kind of person who can carry real responsibility when the stakes are highest.

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What does it take to command the F-22 Raptor at the edge of the envelope — and then pull the power to idle in a vertical tailslide over 100,000 people? — and then reinvent yourself beyond the cockpit?

Josh “Cabo” Gunderson joins Cinco to unpack elite performance, humility under pressure, the dominance of the Raptor at Red Flag, and the deeper question every operator must face: who are you when the afterburners go quiet? From Cuban immigrant roots to leading the F-22 Demonstration Team before millions, Cabo shares hard-earned lessons on discipline, decision-making, mission command, and finding purpose beyond the uniform.

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As software has become the center of gravity for 5th generation fighters, simulation has become increasingly foundational to testing and fielding those aircraft.

On this episode, Doug “Rosie” Rosenstock, a U.S. Marine Corps Harrier-turned-test pilot who helped shape the F-35's mission systems and its simulation backbone, explores how the joint simulation environment was—and is—instrumental in the F-35's adoption by frontline forces.

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What does it take to go from strapping into fighters to leaving Earth's atmosphere?

This week, Jameel “Chocolate” Janjua — Virgin Galactic astronaut and former U.S. and Canadian fighter test pilot — breaks down the mindset behind elite aviation, how test pilots really think about risk, and what it means to operate at the absolute edge of performance.

We follow his path from military flight test to commercial spaceflight, the lessons learned along the way, and why — even as technology accelerates — human judgment remains the final safety net. It’s a rare, inside look at a journey very few people on Earth will ever make.

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What happens when artificial intelligence starts sharing cockpit responsibilities?

On this episode, US Air Force Lt Col Raven “Rost” LeClair—F-35 Lightning II test pilot, squadron commander, and autonomy specialist—breaks down how AI is actually being integrated into 5th-generation fighters. We discuss what “human-machine teaming” looks like from the pilot’s seat, how trust in automation is built (and broken), and why the next leap in airpower depends more on judgment, training, and culture than raw hardware.

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The future of airpower is not decided in the cockpit—it’s decided by the acquisition process.

In this episode, U.S. Air Force Colonel Tim “Ivy” Spaulding joins new FPP host Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton to break down modern aviation acquisition from a fighter pilot’s perspective. They explore why innovation so often struggles to reach the flight line, how risk and incentives become misaligned, and what it really takes to deliver capability at speed.

This candid conversation dives into trust, culture, and people—why acquisition works when operators, engineers, and decision-makers are aligned, and why it fails when they’re not.

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