Helicopter search and rescue takes center stage as DPS pilot Darrell Detty walks us through hair-raising missions, near-misses and small-town chases that feel like action movies with rotor wash. From a 50-foot hovering autorotation, governor failures and a frantic stolen-car pursuit that ends in a live carjacking rescue, to talcum-dust LZs and a barbed-wire fence that almost kissed the skid, this episode blends gritty rotor-head detail with absurd human moments. Expect clear lessons on the dead-man’s curve, manual-throttle saves, crew decision-making, and the weird mentorships that keep pilots sane. Laugh, cringe, and learn as we walk the thin line between heroics and hubris. Strap in, grab the collective, and hold on for rotor-powered storytelling.

And here’s a link that will raise your heart rate just sitting on the floor – you’ll STILL feel too high up! – TERRIFYING Hoist Rescue!

When a 21-year-old warrant officer thinks he’s bulletproof, fate (and a very determined round of enemy fire) impolitely disagrees. In this episode we ride shotgun with Cobra 3-1 — from Duluth misadventures and Playboy Clubs to flight school horrors, hovering triumphs, and the day a bullet turned a routine racetrack into a near-fatal last stand. He survives being shredded through his legs, gets stitched up by a miraculous surgeon, and later closes loops with the medic and chaplain who kept him breathing and believing. It’s equal parts grotesque, hilarious, and deeply human: the gallows humor of helicopter crews, the absurdity of military bureaucracy, reunion epiphanies, and the weird grace of Honor Flights. If you like flying-too-close-to-death stories served with dry wit, irreverent banter, and surprising moments of spiritual closure — buckle in! This isn’t just a war story; it’s a life told with profanity, humility, and a pilot’s stubborn joy.

Two Marines-turned-airline-pilots go full hangar-talk: first solo flight stories (equal parts terror and triumph), Harrier hover witchcraft, and why unstable approaches demand the magic words “unable” and “go-around.” We compare squadron life to airline ops, decode FOQA, MD-11 bounce-landings, porpoising, and laugh through “death-by-go-around” sim rides. We hit auto-lands, HUD/AOA, guarding the controls, and why seniority rules your calendar—and your soul. We even tiptoe across the third rail: raising pilot retirement age (opinion: individual fitness and cognition should matter more than a blunt number). Come for the aviation stories; stay for the checklist discipline and humor. It’s fast, funny, a little absurd—but always remember – it’s better to die and look good than live and look stupid!

Welcome to Hangout #2 of So There I Was—a gloriously unfiltered romp of Harrier stories and V-22 tales. Expect FAA side-eye and concussion-grade comedy. RePete and a very lightly concussed Fig corral Sticks, Bago, Lawman, Deuce, Mike Evans, and Col. Jim Schaefer for pure airshow mayhem. We relive Gallo’s rain-soaked Harrier demo that made the FAA clutch pearls. We bust a few Blue Angels myths. We even ask if a Harrier could land on I-93 without leaving a “Harrier kiss.”

Then we dive into Osprey translation. Why does the MV-22 fly like a dream—and sometimes like a rumor? Add 53 downwash that can relocate outhouses. Toss in a dolphin mega-pod trying to outpace a Coast Guard helo. Plus, a CH-53K “towing” an F-35 (because why not), the VMA-223 sundown, and a salute to Marines, families, and the legends who keep these stories alive.

Come for the aviation nerdery. Stay for the trophy shaped like… well, you’ll hear it. Subscribe, laugh, and check six.

NOTICE***There is going to be a Zoom ‘Hangout’ With the “Numbskulls” on 24 September. If you are a Patreon member or Direct Donor you should get an invitation. If not – check back here on the 24th. I will keep the link from being public until the 24th to prevent trolls from trying to ruin it.***NOTICE

So there I was… strapping into a seven-ton “dirt bike with wings.” The Marine Corps OV-10 Bronco was tough, noisy, and sometimes terrifying. It had no autopilot, a canopy down to your thighs, and a relief tube that occasionally worked like a fountain.

In this episode, Marine aviators Felix and Pigpen share unforgettable OV-10 Bronco pilot stories from Desert Storm. Flying what they called a “missile magnet,” they marked targets with rockets, juggled five radios, and trusted a GPS that only worked part-time.

Humor mixes with danger. You’ll hear about clogged piss tubes, aerobatic joyrides at 100 feet, and even Marines being launched out of the back of the Bronco. But you’ll also learn how these pilots survived night missions without mutual support and earned the deep gratitude of every grunt on the ground.

If you thought Harrier tales were wild, wait until you saddle up with the Bronco crowd. This is a mix of absurd humor, combat grit, and aviation history you won’t forget.

Student pilot judgment takes center stage in this absurdly true tale of near-misses, smart calls, and the mysterious power of the “E-word.” We welcome Chock as he fights through weather, maintenance gremlins, and schedule chaos on the winding road to his private pilot check ride. From an RV-12 with opinions to a Cirrus with a parachute and sparrows doing formation work on the runway, he keeps choosing discretion over disaster—and lives to laugh about it. We unpack why declaring an emergency is free (and wise), how to beat get-there-itis, and why a plastic credit card might be your best safety tool when the forecast lies. Chock’s now at Embry-Riddle, cruising through ground school, logging real-world Aeronautical Decision Making, and proving that repetition builds a rock-solid foundation. Come for the pretty lights and seven welcome wagons; stay to hear how not killing yourself is a habit you can practice.

Booz, a freshly-minted CFI, New Hampshirite, and RePete’s daughter—whose glider-to-airline path includes a first solo at 15, a daddy-daughter cross-country in a Grumman Tiger, and a commercial check ride where a simulated engine roughness forced a wrong-side pattern call (good judgment > dogma). We talk density altitude (rude), VMC demos (also leg fatigue), and why hypoxia makes your alphabet wander off the page — thanks, hyperbaric chamber! An alternator gremlin in Texas led to a fateful diversion and meeting CFI legend Mary Latimer (GIFT) [Episode 162], proving aviation serendipity is real. Booz shares practical advice: take a discovery flight, consider scholarships and ANG paths, and remember progress isn’t linear—more like porpoising on a hot day. Come for the thunderstorm-dodging check ride, stay for the cactus awe, checklist Sharpie art, and donuts for the Feds. Listen, laugh, and maybe plot your own glider to CFI journey.

Tito brought stories that will make you laugh, wince, and wonder why anyone gives gunners ANY spare time! Kool-Aid boots and hot-sauce toilets are savage reminders that no one is safe in a combat zone! Tito’s journey took him from slinging bombs as a “Load Toad,” to fighting fires in baked-potato suits, to strapping into the legendary AC-130 Spectre gunship—where 105mm recoil could literally make the airplane flinch. He survived dunkers, duct tape wars, pink-mist firefights, and kept Nair on hand as a weapon of revenge. And when he wasn’t flattening bad guys in Afghanistan and Iraq, he was saving lives in HH-60 Pave Hawks. Tito also wrote Moonchild, a raw memoir about combat, camaraderie, and finding humor in the absurd. If you like war stories spiked with ridiculous pranks, blunt honesty, and a side of absurdity, buckle up. This one will shake the walls.

Order his excellent memoir here!

This special mid week episode of So There I Was takes a slight detour from our usual lineup of aviators and aircrew—but it’s still all about aviation at heart. Our guest, Mark, from Long Island Watch Co., joined us to share the story behind a limited-run Harrier commemorative watch designed in collaboration with the folks at Patuxent River Naval Air Station (PAX River). PAX, the Navy’s legendary flight test center, was the perfect place for the Harrier community to dream up a way to honor their jet as it heads into retirement. Mark walked us through the design cycle, the hoops of Boeing approvals, and the cool details built into the watch. And yes—Mark is a pilot himself, with a story about learning to fly in some of the busiest airspace around. Aviation, watches, and Harriers—you’ll find it all here.

You can see more about the watch here

You Can Order the watch here

Retired Marine AV-8B Harrier pilot, “Cutter,” brings stories that are equal parts funny and awe-inspiring. He kicks off with the 2005 twelve-ship departure from al-Asad—skimming the Saudi desert on fumes, praying the tankers showed up—before pushing through a 10.5-hour odyssey to Rota, Spain. He rewinds to OCS at Camp Upshur with 300 candidates lined up for a cold gamma-globulin shot, then to flight school in T-2s that needed a literal bicycle pump to make the radio work. Cutter recounts the logging cable in Japan that shredded his wing at 480 knots, and the engine fire in Yuma that ended in an ejection so violent it still rattles him. He explains how smart fixes and blade blending saved Harrier engines, why “Hobbitville” became a deployment, and how commanding MCAS Yuma eventually led to teaching in Vermont. It’s fast, funny, and human: Marine brotherhood, cockpit chaos, and leadership lessons from a Colonel who’s seen it all. Stick around for the Extra—Cutter at Mach .99 over on Patreon!