Fighter Pilot Podcast

What do astronaut Alan Shepard, actor Clark Gable, aviatrix Amelia Earhart, and president George H. W. Bush all have in common?

Each distinguished him- or herself by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. Each acted in the face of danger, well above those actions performed by others engaged in similar flight operations, with results so exceptional as to render them conspicuous among those accomplished by others involved in similar circumstances.

Each of these four brave Americans, and thousands more like them, was awarded the military’s fourth highest decoration: the Distinguished Flying Cross.

On this episode, retired U.S. Navy Commander and President & CEO of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society, Chuck Sweeney (R.I.P.), explains the prestigious medal and the organization designed to promote its heritage. Learn how the medal was once awarded to civilians (like Amelia Earhart and Orville & Wilbur Wright) but is now reserved for military personnel. Then find out how Chuck was awarded three DFCs following a week of particularly harrowing combat operations while piloting an A-4 Skyhawk during the Vietnam conflict.

Chuck’s stories, and those of thousands of other DFC recipients like him, are compiled in the riveting book, On Heroic Wings (available on Amazon).

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No matter how well designed a military aircraft may be, it will always require extensive testing and evaluation to ensure it performs as intended. And even when it does, sometimes unforeseen complications arise—such as when weapons catastrophically collide with the aircraft after release. This too requires extensive testing. But who performs this testing?

Why, test pilots, of course.

On this episode, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Becky “Wrecky” Shaw explains everything you want to know about the Navy Test Pilot School—who the students and faculty are, what the school’s purpose is, when classes take place, where it all happens, why such a school is necessary in the first place, and how it all integrates together to create flight test experts to ensure military aircraft are safe and effective. We also learn why TPS is a common background of so many of the nation’s astronauts, from the original Mercury 7 to today’s space station tenants.

During the listener question segment, learn how the cockpit is set up for a CAS mission, what the limit is for a hard landing on an F/A-18, and whether pilots customize their flight helmets with their callsigns.

Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Jim Hendershot.

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Few pilots ever have an opportunity to meet an enemy aircraft in aerial battle. Fewer yet come out victorious. And even fewer still—in fact, only one—then go on to be involved in arguably the most influential pop culture aviation film of all time.

That man is retired US Navy Rear Admiral Pete “Viper” Pettigrew (R.I.P.).

Climb aboard this week’s episode and hear the harrowing tale of Viper’s shootdown of a North Vietnamese MiG-21 with an untrained RIO in the backseat of his F-4 Phantom II. Then learn how he answered the call to assist Hollywood as the military adviser to everyone’s favorite flying movie, Top Gun. Think it a coincidence that Tom Skerritt’s character—the CO of TOPGUN—was callsign "Viper"?!

With spare time after the interview listener questions are addressed, such as how likely it would have been in the real world for Maverick’s engine flameout occur by flying through another plane’s jet wash, which cockpit arrangement the host liked better between the F/A-18 and F-16, more on aircraft paint schemes, how the Approach magazine was regarded, and defining moments.

Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Jim Hendershot.

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Military aviators are generally hard-working, improvement-seeking, self-motivated individuals accustomed to working well under pressure, on tight deadlines, and with limited budgets. It’s no wonder they typically find follow on success after leaving the service.

On this episode, retired U.S. Navy Captain Kevin “Hozer” Miller offers his post-military experiences to our discussion on what many aviators do after leaving the cockpit. We discuss the transferable skills that generally lead to success whether they choose the airlines, [glossary-ignore]Wall[/glossary-ignore] Street, Silicon Valley, or countless other options.

Hozer also shares his experiences writing two critically-acclaimed fictional novels (with a third on the way) on what squadron life is like aboard an aircraft carrier with amazingly accurate descriptions of ship and combat operations. Click on Raven One and Declared Hostile to order these books on Amazon and in the process, help support this show financially.

During the listener question segment, we address F/A-18 climb and descent profiles, how deployments take a toll on the home front, lightning strikes, how pilots maintain carrier landing proficiency ashore, and personal weapons carried during combat missions.

Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Jim Hendershot.

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Today’s combat aviator enjoys a wide variety of munitions from which to choose when attacking surface targets. From free fall general purpose bombs, to laser- and GPS-guided weapons, to glide and forward firing rockets, missiles, and guns—the extensive arsenal is full of complex, yet highly effective ordnance.

On this episode, U.S. Navy Commander Colin “Farva” Price explains how pilots choose which weapons to use against which targets and how ‘collateral damage’ concerns are addressed. We step through the various weapons employed by the F/A-18 aircraft series such as Mk 80 and BLU-series warheads, LGBs, JDAM, JSOW, SLAM ER, HARM, Maverick, rockets, and more. We also describe practice munitions used in training before wrapping up with a peek at future weapons coming down the pipeline. And check out the photo of a Super Hornet with 10 JDAM!

During the listener question segment, find out what happens when a navy pilot gets fired, what we know about the Top Gun sequel filming, and how military aircraft paint schemes have changed since Vietnam and the tactical significance of aircraft finishes.

Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Jim Hendershot.

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Just as a viper relies on its venomous fangs and a hornet its stinger to deliver a lethal attack on adversaries, so too do modern combat fighter aircraft depend on guided missiles and cannon fire to engage aerial foes. But what guidance methods do missiles use? How difficult is it to effectively employ the gun on a non-cooperative target? And how far, exactly, can the AIM-120C AMRAAM be employed against a non-maneuvering fighter-size target when both the shooter and target are at Mach 1 and above 30,000 feet?

…okay, we don’t answer that last one. In fact, for the die-hard technology and tactics buffs out there—fair warning: we avoid specific details because, more so than any other topic yet discussed on this show, information on air-to-air missiles is jealously guarded to maintain an advantage against potential foes.

On this episode, our first U.S. Air Force guest, Major Trevor "Boat" Boswell, discusses the air-to-air weapons common to all U.S. ‘teen-series’ fighters: the AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, and M-61A1 Vulcan Canon. We discuss guidance methods, employment considerations, and how we employ (and simulate employing) these weapons in training.

During the listener question segment we discuss training with foreign forces, whether a fear of drones is warranted, and if it is common to still see unfamiliar faces among a carrier crew of 5,000 sailors several months into deployment.

Episode photograph by Eric Larson. Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Jim Hendershot.

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We’ve all heard that ‘war is hell,’ but this week we hear it from a different perspective: that of a young pilot, new to the fleet and the F/A-18 Hornet, who finds himself fighting far from home in the fog of war, on the heels of the death of a beloved squadron mate.

On this episode, retired U.S. Navy Captain Nick “Mongo” Mongillo tells the harrowing story of his downing an Iraqi MiG-21 on day one of Desert Storm. Live the experience as you hear the actual in-flight audio, then dissect it to learn what each call meant then, and how times have changed now.

Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Jim Hendershot.

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A replay of the June 5, 2018 Facebook Live listener question session with episode 5 guest Fitz "Dud" Lee.

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The U.S. Navy has one of the largest air forces in the world comprised of a wide variety of aircraft from helicopters to strike fighters to patrol planes. While squadrons, air wings, and type wings have a well-established chain of command, ultimately they all fall under the purview of a single person. Known formally as the Commander, Naval Air Forces, the position is known better as simply, the Air Boss.

On this episode, recently retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral and air boss Mike “Shoe” Shoemaker, joins us to discuss the current state and future of naval aviation. We touch on numerous high-level strategic issues and spend several minutes answering listener questions.

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While landing a high-performance jet aircraft on an aircraft carrier may be the most challenging task any naval aviator will ever face, truth is, after a hundred or two of them--most pilots get passably good at it and almost come to enjoy carrier landings. In the daytime. Turn out the lights, add an overcast and suddenly it's another story. How dark does it get in the middle of the ocean? Really dark. Add some ocean swells and it’s downright terrifying.

On this episode, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and former landing signal officer Tra "Fish" Calisch joins us to wrap up our 5-part mini-series on aircraft carrier operations with a discussion on what is universally agreed upon to be the single most difficult feat of aviation: landing a high performance jet aircraft on an aircraft carrier at night. We also discuss marshaling and arrival procedures and what happens when the ship heaves up and down in rough seas (hint: it isn’t fun).

During the listener question segment, the host explains what survival gear is in an F/A-18’s ejection seat pan, why aircraft fuel levels are measured by weight instead of volume, and his favorite aerial refueling tanker, among other topics.

Bumper music by Incompetech.

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