The Thunderball Vulcan
When the scenes with the stolen Vulcan occurred, I was impressed with how realistic the bomber's water landing looked, as well as when it...
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Stephen Moriset
- Sep 20, 2021
Just Thoughts
I'll never "soar where neither lark nor eagle dare," but my spirit is with you on each of your flights. When I go home in the morning and...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Apr 22, 2021
Fighter Pilot Stereotypes
Okay, humor me a moment: I’m going to write two words and I want you describe the first image that comes to mind. Ready? Fighter pilot. ...
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Ken Katz
- Jan 19, 2021
Guidance and Control
Guidance and control are the engineering disciplines that point a vehicle in the desired direction, traveling at the desired velocity,...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Dec 5, 2020
Aircraft Nomenclature (part 2): Europe
Table 1: Dassault Suffix Conventions Single-letter suffixes are used in other applications, such as the Mirage III R tactical...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Nov 5, 2020
Aircraft Nomenclature (part 1): Russia and China
Table 1 Russian Designer Bureaus Instead of design bureaus, Chinese aircraft designations begin with one or two letters based on the...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Oct 7, 2020
For Our Freedom, and Yours
The 303 became the most successful RAF squadron during the Battle of Britain, achieving legendary status. Today, if you search "Spitfire...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Sep 21, 2020
Understanding the FMU-139 and Its Employment Options
Variants Several variants of the FMU-139 exist with each successive model improving on the previous. The FMU-139/B was a developmental...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Sep 5, 2020
Fighter Pilot Math
To be sure, designing a fighter requires aerodynamic theories and principles involving advanced mathematics, but flying one requires...
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Edward Chang
- Jul 7, 2020
The Sea Wings Legacy
Their idea is that they steam around in the open oceans and attack naval targets ashore, such as ports and naval airfields, that they...
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Trevor "BOAT" Boswell
- Mar 5, 2020
"It Depends"
First, Assumptions Like all good hypotheses, you must build the “control” set from which all variables can be measured and considered. ...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Oct 4, 2019
The Upside of Callsigns
For the record, TOPGUN does not recommend the use of personal callsigns during tactical employment and there really was a CAG who went by...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Aug 19, 2019
What Makes a Good Fighter Pilot
…Charles nearly won the “stump the chump” challenge but I was feeling pretty good about my impromptu answers and made it through the...
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Kayla Balserak
- Jul 13, 2019
The Reality of Being Married to a Fighter Pilot
If you ask my husband about his job, he’ll likely resemble a two year-old telling you he flies fighter jets. In the military,...
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Jack Curtis
- May 27, 2019
The First One
He was good at it, and he made it look easy. And for a middle of the bell curve kind of guy like myself, I was equal parts awed and...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- Feb 16, 2019
Solemn Words
These were gentlemen of impeccable character, honor, and youthful vitality; both were noble officers of courage and outstanding repute....
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Ryan Gilchrest
- Jan 25, 2019
Missed Opportunities
What Should’ve been the F-14 Tomcat’s First Air-Air Kill of Desert Storm By Ryan W. Gilchrist On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraq invaded its southern...
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Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello
- May 22, 2018
It's Airshow Season!
The death-defying aerial performances are amazing to watch The static displays are cool to explore There are plenty of yummy eats to...
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