Category Archives: Fighter Pilot

Fighter Pilots, Helicopter Pilots and Attitudes toward War and Killing

In Blackhawk Down, the dramatized events of the 1993 assault on Mogadishu, US Army Blackhawk Super 61 is struck by an RPG and begins spinning to the surface.  As the alarms blare and the helicopter loses altitude, the pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Cliff Wolcott, calmly asks his co-pilot, CWO Donovan Briley, to silence the annoying caution lights:

“Hey, Bull, you want to pull those PCLs off-line or what?”

The pilot knew his capabilities; he knew the status of his aircraft.  He likely knew he was about to die; yet his voice was calm and procedural, betraying not a hint of emotion.

In perhaps the most widely watched example in recent history, American Airlines pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger calmly told the taken-aback Air Traffic Controllers

“we’re going to be in the Hudson.”

By all accounts, the crew was calm and methodical as it executed its emergency procedures, saving the lives of all on board.

How can pilots be so stoic during life-threatening catastrophes that might bring screams and panic from others?  Read more

Thunderbirds Fly Super Bowl Winners

Much to the chagrin of the general public, you pretty much have to be famous or have a friend in the right place to score a ride in an Air Force fighter.  Recently, Super Bowl XLIV champions Drew Brees and Jabari Greer had that experience, even flying with the US Air Force demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, during the Defenders of Liberty airshow at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.

Generally, the flights serve as an act of goodwill between organizations with Read more

The Fighter Squadron Doofer Book

The squadron “Doofer Book” is a fighter pilot tradition that has spread to many other services and career fields in one form or another.  It is generally a handwritten, running compilation of the missteps of the various members of the squadron that may be updated daily, or at weekly or monthly pilot events.  While entertaining as a day-to-day squadron chronicle, they are most interesting when kept during deployments—they serve as a unique collection of Read more

The Army’s Unmanned Air Force

Popular Mechanics, as repeated at FoxNews, notes the US Army’s increasing reliance on and acquisition of UAVs.

Maj. Gen. James Barclay III, the commanding general in charge of Army aviation, today released the “Unmanned Aircraft Systems [UAS] Roadmap 2010–2035” at an Army aviation conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Its subtitle, “Eyes of the Army,” hints at the plan’s early focus on reconnaissance, but the scope of the roadmap expands…

The article describes a “rivalry” between the Air Force and the Army– Read more

Out of a Perfectly Good Airplane

Some people call skydiving “jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.”  US Army Staff Sgt Ben Borger took it to a new extreme when he jumped out of a C-17 at 32,000 feet in a “wingsuit.”  He reportedly broke a world record for traveling 11.5 miles after jumping, which translates to slightly more than 2 miles of horizontal travel for every mile he fell.

An airplane, of course, could have travelled much further, and it wouldn’t have needed to hitch a ride after landing…

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