In contrast to the F-4’s “all-weather interceptor” role, the Phantom made many of its early cruises as paired squadrons with F-8 units, which were considered “day fighter” (or, in the…
‘The RC-135 was diverted to do the intercept. The RC snuck up on the Bear from low rear and then pulled up alongside. It was a surprise to the Soviets,’…
On November 6, 1944, US Navy F6F Hellcat pilots encountered a Japanese fighter they could not identify while conducting a fighter sweep over the airfields north of Manila The F6F…
The US Air Force (USAF) retired its fleet of SR-71s on January 26, 1990, although the U-2 is still in use today Before Gary Power’s U-2 was shot down, development…
‘To keep the bad guy off his feet, the first officer threw the FedEx DC-10 cargo aircraft into all sorts of maneuvers, including inverted flight,’ Keith Shergold, former airline transport…
‘The NTSB lists Triethylborane [TEB] as the following most dangerous material, one step below fissionable nuclear material,’ Former SR-71 Blackbird pilot David Peters The amazing photo in this post, taken…
Capt. Brian Kesselring, a former TOPGUN instructor himself and now flight leader and commanding officer of the Blue Angels, had the honor of taking TOPGUN1, retired Navy Captain Dan Pedersen,…
During RED FLAG 90-1, an RAF Phantom FGR.2 (known as F-4M in the US) diverted there and returned to Nellis bearing an F-117 sticker and legend. DON’T ASK As one…
The change was led by Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a retired US Navy commander and former F-4 Phantom pilot, who, along with his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Willy “Irish” Driscoll, was…
The first pilot to breach the sound barrier in the recently dubbed “Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor” was Maj. Alex “Brick” Shuler, an F-22 test pilot A ceremony honoring the contributions…