Fighter Pilot Podcast

MCAS Miramar-based Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 101 closes its doors after 50+ years of teaching U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators first in the F-4 Phantom and then the F/A-18 Hornet.  On this episode, the final VMFAT-101 Commander, LtCol Ryan "Yoshi" Franzen and the -101 Operations Officer Maj Erik "Tucker" Rheinhart share the Sharpshooter history and legacy, and what's next for USMC F/A-18 t...

On this repurposed 2021 'Happy Hour' discussion, retired U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Larry "Racehorse" Rannals describes his career beginning as a Naval Flight Officer before converting to pilot via Air Force flight training and flying the RF-4 in Vietnam--in both seats!  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Robert Dosé was a World War 2 fighter pilot who downed an Imperial Japanese aircraft. Thirty years later, his son Curtis downed a Vietnamese MiG-21, making them the only father-son duo to each achieve aerial victories in combat. "Dozo," as Curt is known, joins us this week to describe the May 10, 1972 engagement and reconciliation with his former enemy 40+ years later. A TOPGUN graduate and test p...

Nelson "Ed" Cobleigh is a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and Vietnam veteran-turned author who flew the A-4 Skyhawk, F-4 Phantom, Jaguar, F-104 Starfighter, and F-16 Fighting Falcon, among others. This episode is adapted from a 2022 'Happy Hour' discussion over Zoom. Visit Ed's website here. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about y...

Retired US Navy Captain Jim "Guido" Dimatteo is a polymath: the son of a WW2 fighter pilot, a former A-4, F-14, F-16N, F/A-18 pilot (and still the F-5), the former purveyor of a successful San Diego bar & restaurant, a rugby veteran, former Director of the Red Bull Air Races, Director of the Breitling Jet Team North American tour, and so much more as you will learn on this intriguing episode. Lear...

FPP friend and occasional cohost, Ken Katz, welcomes back to the show Dr. Eileen Bjorkman to discuss her new book, Fly Girls Revolt: The Story of the Women Who Kicked Open the Door to Fly in Combat. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rogers E. Smith is a Canadian-American pilot who served in the RCAF, U.S. Marines, and U.S. Air National Guard and spent a long career testing nearly every American fighter (and several Russian ones), despite never attending a formal test pilot school! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Brigadier General Mike Aguilar explains how the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is moving from MCAS Miramar in San Diego to the Great Park in Irvine, near the former MCAS El Toro., California. Visit the FLAM website here. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Retired Italian Air Force General and former Tornado pilot Gianmarco Bellini joins guest host Craig "Crunch" Snyder to discuss his terrifying low-altitude, high-speed ejection in the opening hours of Operation Desert Storm. Watch the Gianmarco Bellini: Gulf War POW (2023) Official Trailer here. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about you...

Retired U.S. Navy Captain Brett "Chopper" Crozier describes his career from flying SH-60B Seahawks to returning to flight school to learn the F/A-18 Hornet to nuclear power school and eventually command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, including his very public firing at the beginning of COVID. Order Chopper's book, Surf When You Can, from Amazon here. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com...

Phillip Frawley is not only a retired Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot, he is a Guinness World Record holder for being the oldest and longest-serving fighter pilot in the world. With a half-century of service and nearly 500 flight students taught, "Frawls" has seen it all. This Zoom interview was originally recorded during a late 2020 happy hour session for FPP Patreon supporters. Support...

U.S. Air Force Reserve fighter pilot, Justin "Hasard" Lee, describes his career flying the block 50 F-16 before transitioning to the F-35 and ultimately starting a compelling YouTube channel. His exploits and many lessons learned are captured in his book, The Art of Clear Thinking. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices....

Retired U.S. Navy fighter #pilot, James "Slug" Kidrick, makes a case for aviation museums and how to keep patrons, besides just children, walking in the door. Slug had a hand in making the necessary arrangements for a San Diego Air & Space Museum F-14 Tomcat to appear on an aircraft carrier flight deck for the first time in more than a dozen years. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/t...

Retired U.S. Navy captain and MH-60 Seahawk pilot Alan "SugarBear" Worthy explains how military forces and weapons systems designed primarily to destroy and kill are also used to help and heal during natural disasters and humanitarian crises.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miss the old show format where Jell-O answers listener questions and makes announcements in his usual quippy style? Well, you're in luck! This week he and guest co-host Ken Katz catch up like old times and clear out the mail bag. Then Ken interviews civilian test pilot Shannon "Bam Bam" Lunsford on the careful considerations and risk mitigation strategies employed when flying a prototype aircraft...

Former U.S. Navy A-4 Skyhawk, A-7 Corsair II, and F/A-18 Hornet pilot Jerry "Lefty" Schubert stopped by the show during a 2020 Happy Hour to share stories on grit, Naval Aviation, and fatherhood. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Designing and flying a vehicle intended to travel at five times the speed of sound or more presents significant challenges—add a human occupant and the stakes go even higher. On this episode, former U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress pilot Daniel "Doc" Millman, Ph. D, now of Stratolaunch, joins guest cohost Ken Katz to discuss the challenges of hypersonic aircraft design and flight, and how the U....

Retired US Navy Captain Tom "Trotts" Trotter describes flying the beloved F-14 Tomcat and how it compares to the F/A-18 Hornet, then attending TOPGUN as one of the first Hornet students and later commanding the school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mr. Tim Kinsella joins former U.S. Air Force Flight Test Engineer and Fighter Pilot Podcast cohost Ken "Primetime" Katz to discuss the various non-intrusive ways aircraft structures are tested in development and throughout the aircraft's service life. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper pilot Jeff "Tico" Tice was callsign 'Stroke 1,' the flight lead for the ill-fated "Package Q" strike on Iraq just days into Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Stroke 3 miraculously dodged multiple Iraqi SAMs and made it home safely where his HUD footage became a sensation. Tico was not so lucky... Read about Package Q here. Watch the Stroke 3 video here. Support this...

Former U.S. Air Force cargo pilot Bob Strang describes flying the beloved but not-well-known C-7 Caribou on risky resupply missions during the Vietnam Conflict, often landing on extremely short runways freshly cut from the jungle with no navigational aids or runway markings—all while being fired upon by the enemy. Visit the C-7A Caribou Association:http://www.c-7acaribou.com/ Support this podcast...

A discussion on how the next generation air dominance fighter will redefine air warfare with retired U.S. Air Force General J. Mike "Mobile" Holmes, hosted by Matt Arny. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Trey Williams joins Retired U.S. Army CW5 (and future Army Aviation Hall-of-Famer) Stan Wood to discuss the Night Stalkers of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and their role in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu immortalized in the 2001 movie, 'Black Hawk Down.' Be sure to visit and contribute to the Night Stalker Association as well as Trey'...

Scott Chafian and Brian "Sunshine" Sinclair return to introduce Authentic Media, a game-changing subscription service providing exclusive military aviation content and community. Authentic Media subscribers will enjoy access to audio shows offering historical perspectives, detailed engineering, and personal stories—all curated by experts in the field. Subscribers will also be part of a thriving co...

Former U.S. Air Force F-15, F-5, and F-16 pilot, and Fighter Weapons School graduate, Fred "Spanky" Clifton, describes flying the MiG-29 Fulcrum as a Luftwaffe exchange pilot following German reunification after the Iron Curtain fell. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices