Fighter Pilot Podcast

'Top Gun Month' kicks off in earnest with this exhaustive look at the Navy Fighter Weapons School with Brad Elward, author of TOPGUN: The Legacy: The Complete History of TOPGUN and its Impact on Tactical Aviation. A former attorney and college professor, Mr. Elward spent a decade interviewing more than 400 TOPGUN graduates and instructors for this authoritative book. On this episode, Mr. Elward ex...

'Top Gun Month' kicks off here on the Fighter Pilot Podcast with a discussion on... wait, what?! Sure, the long-awaited sequel looks to be "all that" but let's not lose track of what else is happening in the world and that includes the 40th anniversary of the Falkland Islands war between the U.K. and Argentina. On this episode, retired Royal Navy Commander Tim "Bobsleigh" Gedge joins us to discuss...

Skynet. Cyborgs... When you think of advanced technology in military applications, odds are Hollywood has you convinced it is to our species' peril. Never mind entertainment, what is artificial intelligence, really, and how might it be adapted in military aviation? On this episode, U.S. Air Force Colonel Randel Gordon, Vice Commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, California joi...

Being labeled a "jack of all trades" is oftentimes derisively applied to people or things with the inevitable follow up, "master of none." But every once in awhile an exception comes along—an unassuming platform devised for a myriad of missions that it performs so well it remains relevant over six decades later. On this episode, retired U.S. Air Force Major Carter Clark discusses the OV-10 Bronco'...

You've heard on this podcast—and likely seen videos online—of how pilots land high performance military jets on the angled, steel flight decks of modern aircraft carriers, but how did they do it back in the beginning on wooden, straight-deck carriers? On this episode, former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Dale Berven joins us to describe the procedures he followed when landing his F9F Panther a...

Since the USS Langley’s commissioning in 1922, America's aircraft carriers and embarked air wings have projected power, sustained sea control, bolstered deterrence, and maintained the U.S.'s enduring commitments worldwide. On this episode, former USS Abraham Lincoln commanding officer Captain Walter "Sarge" Slaughter and episode 83 guest Dave "Mini Me" Kurtz, both U.S. Navy, discuss the relevance...

According to the FAA, the primary purpose of ATC is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots. That's great for airspace around fixed airfields on landmasses like North America, but what about flight operations around ships at sea? On this episode, retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander Susan "CATCC Sue" Beckman of PB...

Designed to defeat any adversary for the next 30 years, the Saab Gripen E is made for forward-thinking air forces, incorporating cutting-edge technologies and the latest systems, sensor, weapons, and pods. On this bonus episode, Jussi "Miyagi" Halmetoja of Saab AB updates us on the Gripen E model in the two years since the JAS 39 first debuted on this show back on episode 68. As mentioned during t...

Military aircraft, the systems they incorporate and weapons they employ, are incredibly complex contraptions requiring extensive development and testing. Pilots fly the aircraft and maintenance professionals maintain them, but who performs the testing? On this episode, guest co-host Ken Katz discusses the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Engineer profession with retired Colonel Eileen "BJ" Bjorkman, PhD...

Short Takeoff / Vertical Landings like an AV-8 Harrier or traditional catapults and arresting gear a la F/A-18 Super Hornet--which do you think is more difficult? 'U.K. Month' wraps up with this replay of an early 2021 Patreon Happy Hour with former Royal Navy pilot Paul Tremelling who has done both. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations Learn more abo...

U.K. Month continues with a look at the SEPECAT Jaguar. The anglo-French jet that was too much of a handful to serve as a trainer as designed, found success as a low altitude strike platform, including nuclear strike. Our guest, RAF Wing Commander Dheeraj "D-Reg" Bhasin MBE, shares his experiences flying the "Jag" including in extreme operations such as when taking off in high, hot, and heavy cond...

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...