Category Archives: Fighter Pilot

Veterans’ Day 2007

What started out as Armistice Day nearly 90 years ago continues to be a day in the US that acknowledges the sacrifices of American military veterans.

The Washington Times reports that the VA is asking veterans to wear their medals this Veterans’ Day to

show the world the unity of our support for U.S. armed forces [and] teach the meaning and the value of military service to the children of America.

According to the article, while many have poor opinions of the Global War on Terror, 71% still have a favorably opinion of the US military, with another poll indicating 81% of Americans consider a military career “prestigious.”

Air-Dropped Soccer Balls Offend Afghanis

The Best Intentions… 

According to the International Herald Tribune, the US military apologized for offending Afghani Muslims when it gave them soccer balls that had the Saudi flag on it.  The Saudi flag has the words Allah and Muhammad on it; those names in any form are considered sacred to Muslims.  The thought of kicking those sacred names was apparently offensive.

Soccer (or football, outside the US), is wildly popular in most other parts of the world, and has even been a source of national pride in an otherwise sometimes fractious Iraq.

A Day in the Life of a Fighter Pilot

Several fighter pilots-to-be have asked what a “typical day” is like for a fighter pilot.  Like many professions, coming up with a “standard” day is difficult.  Every squadron on every base in every command is slightly different.  Each has its own nuances, and all of them cannot possibly be included here.  What follows is a generalized “day in the life of a fighter pilot.” Read more

Lt. Col. Jonathan C. Dowty

LtCol Jonathan C. Dowty is an Air Force veteran and highly experienced fighter pilot, test pilot, and flight instructor. Dowty is a distinguished graduate of the US Air Force Academy and flew the F-16 in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, including night combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Dowty was subsequently selected to attend the US Air Force Test Pilot School where he graduated as the second ranked pilot in academics. He then flew flight test and test support missions for various Air Force, contract, and international test programs covering all aspects of developmental test, including structures, stability and control, avionics and systems integration, weapons, and other areas.

Among other acquisition program management and leadership positions, Dowty has served as the Chief F-16 instructor pilot and stability and control subject matter expert at the USAF Test Pilot School, where he also helped develop the school’s first-ever graduate-level accredited curriculum. He was later chosen to lead Flight Test Safety operations for the Air Force’s largest test range, overseeing the safe and efficient execution of nearly 100,000 air operations a year.

Dowty is an experienced instructor and author, having taught graduate level education and been published in both technical and non-technical fields. He holds a Masters of Science in Flight Test Engineering and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science.

LtCol Dowty is a command pilot with more than 2,000 flight hours in more than 35 different aircraft.

The views presented are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its Components.

Why Should a Christian Bother?

Daily spiritual struggles, constant challenges to a Christian’s faith, the potential for persecution:  with so many negatives, why would any Christian even want to be a fighter pilot?

Many of the articles on this website deal with the pessimistic aspects of trying to be an authentic Christian in a sometimes immoral fighter pilot world.  This was primarily a somewhat zealous attempt to “set straight” any “starry-eyed” would-be fighter pilots, and it failed to consider those who honestly know very little (good or bad) about the fighter pilot world.  A dearth of positive articles may lead some to believe that there isn’t any good in being a fighter pilot and that there’s no respectable reason for a Christian to be a fighter pilot.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  There are awesome and positive things about being a fighter pilot, and the fighter pilot world even has aspects that make it desirable as a Christian career. Read more

One Pilot’s Training Story

…The first phase of pilot training was purely academics, learning the elementary concepts of flight and navigation.  The next phase was basic flight in the T-37, a twin engine jet trainer with the pilot and student sitting side-by-side.  The 1950s era plane had an agonizing engine sound that earned it the nickname “Tweet.”  It was in this aircraft that we were taught the fundamentals of takeoff, landing, and instrument flight.  The first flight in pilot training is traditionally called a “dollar ride,” a term which is sometimes applied to the first flight in any flying training program in a new aircraft.  The student is so clueless and the instructor pilot (IP) has to demonstrate (and thus fly) so much that the student is essentially a passenger.  Traditionally, the student gives the IP of his first sortie a dollar bill as a “tip” for the ride.  The dollars are often decorated with magazine clippings (some more risqué than others), phrases, or other details that might characterize the flight, the student, or the IP.  Many UPT instructors’ desks are littered with laminated, vandalized dollar bills.  The journey from the “dollar ride” to the first solo is amazingly short.  Read more

Fighter Pilot Traditions

Given the nature and danger of the fighter pilot profession, comradery is strong.  Fighter pilot traditions are a means of sharing in that comradery.  Given the relative youth of the pilot profession—the Wrights first flew in 1903—the traditions of the Air Force are almost farcical compared to those of the centuries-old Army, Marines, and Navy.  While some fighter pilot traditions pass on the history of flying and fighting, many are rooted more in fraternity than reality and simply revel in the exclusivity of the fighter pilot culture.  Some fighter pilot traditions are so outrageous and immature that they have taken on the air of reindeer games—they are nothing more than something “special” that one has to be a fighter pilot to understand. Read more

TDYs, Remotes, and Separations

In addition to his demanding daily commitments, a fighter pilot will inevitably be called upon to deploy—meaning he will travel to another destination to accomplish even more responsibilities.  These deployments vary in nature and include short-term temporary duties to attend a training class, indefinite commitments to conduct combat operations, and assignment to remote tours that are a year or more long.  Each situation presents unique challenges to a fighter pilot’s Christian walk, finances, family, and more.  Read more

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