Fighter Pilot Podcast

U.K. Month kicks off with a look at the English Eclectic... make that 'Electric' (oops!)... Lightning. Actually, that's no Freudian slip because with vertically stacked engines, guns & rockets attached to the front of fuel tanks, and highly swept wings, the Lightning is one of a kind! Our guest is retired RAF Squadron Leader Ian "Blacky" Black; follow him on Twitter (@blickyIan) and check out his...

We turn the way-back machine to 11 on this in-depth discussion on aircraft of the vintage and golden eras of aviation, courtesy of the folks who fly these magnificent aircraft in the skies over New York today, just as was done over 100 years ago. On this episode, Mr. Stewart Sommerville, General Manager of Cole Palen’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, joins us to discuss how this 501 (c) (3) non-profit or...

'Flight surgeon'—that must be a specially-trained medical doctor who performs surgery on a specially-adapted aircraft, right? Not exactly. On this episode, U.S. Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel Rocky "Apollo" Jedick joins us to explain what flight surgeons are, how they are trained, what they do, and who they serve (hint: it's not just pilots). Former episode 6 guest, now retired U.S. Navy Com...

We took a well-deserved break over the holiday season, so our first episode of 2022 is this replay of a 'Happy Hour' discussion from our Patreon page. It's a harrowing story with one of only two pilots to ever engage an aircraft carrier barricade in an F/A-18 Hornet--and he did it in the dark of night! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more a...

Show hosts Jell-O and Boat take a look back at this tumultuous year and clear out the mailbag before offering a sneak peek at the year to come. (Contains some mild language in one part.) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bomber Month concludes with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. World War II was brewing but the United States had yet to officially join the war. Using the power of the Lend Lease Act, the call went out to aircraft manufacturers to create a new heavy bomber that could be sent to Europe and go faster, climb higher, and carry more payload than the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress. What was created was t...

Bomber Month rolls on! This week, retired U. S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Addison Thompson joins us to discuss his career as a test pilot and his role in the development flight testing of the B-1B Lancer. The complex and highly capable 'Bone' presented numerous challenges during its development, and LtCol. Thompson describes how those challenges were met to give the operational B-1B force a saf...

Here on the Fighter Pilot Podcast it’s once again Bomber Month! First up this year is the General Dynamics FB-111A supersonic swing-wing strategic bomber. Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Bill Moran joins us to explain how this aircraft differs from the F-111 and how it was used in Strategic Air Command operations. During the Cold War, SAC bombers and missiles were on alert 24 / 7 / 365 deterring th...

As the storm clouds of war once again formed in the late 1930's, the Japanese Imperial Navy requested proposals for a new aircraft carrier-based fighter that would dominate all competitors in aerial combat. The result was one of the most revered fighter aircraft to ever take to the skies: the Mitsubishi A6M Type 0, or as it later came to be more affectionately known: the "Zero." On this episode, M...

According to Ernest Hemmingway, a man has only one virginity to lose in fighters, and if it is a lovely plane he loses it to, there his heart will ever be. Evidently this is not just true for fighters but for attack planes--even those that started off in your nation's Navy then get thrust onto your Air Force to fly nuclear maritime strike missions. On this episode, retired RAF Group Captain John "...

The F-35 Lightning II, a trillion-dollar, highly capable 5th generation fighter, has been described by the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff as a Ferrari which, "you don’t drive to work every day, you only drive it on Sundays." If so, what do we drive to work the rest of the week? On this episode, Samuel "Spam" Milam, a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel who now works for the Sierra Nevada Corporation, jo...

In 1933, English aircraft designer Sydney Camm proposed a radical design for the future of British fighter aviation: a monoplane. Two-and-a-half years later the Hawker Hurricane took to the skies and became a Royal Air Force workhorse, albeit an overshadowed one. On this episode, Mr. Warren Pietsch, Chief Pilot from the Dakota Territory Air Museum, joins us to discuss the legendary aircraft that h...

In 1962 the U.S. Marine Corps issued a request for a heavy lift, ship-based helicopter capable of lifting a 4-ton payload over a radius of 100 nautical miles at a speed of over 150 knots. Boeing offered the CH-47A Chinook, which was already in service with the U.S. Army, while Sikorsky offered the S-65. The latter was selected, and after three years of tumultuous development entered service as the...

Inside America’s Dysfunctional Trillion-Dollar Fighter-Jet Program (NY Times). The U.S. Air Force Just Admitted the F-35 Stealth Fighter Has Failed (Forbes). The F-35 May Be Unsalvageable (The Hill). Are these headlines fair criticisms of the Joint Strike Fighter or simply yellow journalism? How are we supposed to know what, and who, to believe these days? On this episode, retired Royal Canadian A...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep a 70+ year-old aircraft in the air, who funds its maintenance, or how you could be involved to help keep the legacy of the aircraft, pilots, and maintainers alive for future generations to experience? Well, wonder no more! On this episode, Ms. Leah Block joins us to discuss the Commemorative Air Force, from where it started, to how it's structured, the...

This time last year we heard from Martin "Opus" Richard who was airborne in an F-15 Eagle over Manhattan during the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01. This year, on the 20th anniversary of that fateful day, we hear from Tim "Conk" Conklin of the Colorado Air National Guard who was also airborne, only in an F-16 Viper and over Denver and Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, far from the actual attacks. While we...

The Marines—God bless 'em—have a reputation for making do with whatever equipment, weapons, and tasking that comes their way and, to their credit, usually do a damn fine job accomplishing the mission with whatever they have. This goes for Vietnam-era assault helicopters originally operated by the U.S. Army. On this episode, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Major Travis "Jayhoon" Denny joins us to explain...

Hornet, Eagle, Viper, Tomcat, Tiger, Raptor, Warthog, Moose... we've covered many colorfully-named aircraft here on the show and this week is no different with a discussion on the carrier-based nucular strike aircraft that served mainly in reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and aerial tanker roles from the mid-50's well into the 2000's. That's right, get ready for the 'Whale.' On this episode, re...

Not every aircraft can be (or should be) an attention-grabbing 9G fighter or Mach 3 spy plane. Scores of unheralded support planes play vital military roles including the movement of critical supply. Without timely and sufficient beans, bullets, and bandages provided by cargo planes like the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, no military campaign gets far. On this episode, U.S. Air Force Major Courtney...

Before COVID it was common for U.S. Navy aircraft carriers returning from deployment to stop and pick up a thousand or more "tigers." These civilian family and friends enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime immersive experience of life aboard a carrier at sea, including an airshow unlike anything available back home. In 2003, show host Vincent's two brothers, Kai and Rocky, joined him for a week-long Tiger Cr...

This being our 4th year in podcasting, episodes air on the 4's of each month, but this month the 4th falls on a major U.S. holiday so we're taking a little break. Cohost Boat welcomes Jell-O back to the show following his family setback and the two clear out the phone log. For those of you who celebrate it, happy Independence Day! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-p...

Some aircraft are, simply put, icons of their era: the Wright Flyer, the SR-71 “Blackbird”, and the F-22 “Raptor”, to name a few. All hold a special place in history and in the hearts and minds of the men and women who flew them or have dreamt about doing so. On this episode, the last surviving triple ace of World War II, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Clarence “Bud” Anderson (R.I.P.), joins us to...

FPP cohost Boat provides an update on a family tragedy involving founder Jell-O. For more information visit FPP Facebook Page. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The letter S seems to have an outsized presence in the name NASA. Space. True, the space program dominates NASA's media and Hollywood presence but there is a whole lot more to that less well known proceeding A. Aeronautics. From the X-1 which first broke the "sound barrier" to the X-59 Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, NASA, and its predecessor NACA, plays an important role in flight research flying a...

Accomplished author Rowland White stopped by the show to discuss his fifth book, Harrier 809, Britain's Legendary Jump Jet and the Untold Story of the Falklands War. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices