The Missions Of The Space Shuttle Endeavor With the sad passing of America’s Space Shuttle program, I recently had the opportunity to interview, author, Robert A. Adamcik, on his new book on the life...
On March 21st and 22nd, the City of Lancaster held the inaugural Los Angeles County Air Show at William J. Fox Airfield. The Air Show was headlined by the United States Navy Demonstration Team,...
PART 5: Supplemental Notes Further Reading: Donald E. Auten’s Roger Ball! The Odyssey of John Monroe “Hawk” Smith, Navy Fighter Pilot, tells the story of an influential figure in Topgun and the Navy fighter...
(Sporty F-5E joins on his flight lead seconds after takeoff from NAS Miramar.) PART 4: The Only Constant Is Change All organizations either evolve or expire, and NFWS is no exception. In the years...
he gentle Hawaiian breeze blows in from the Pacific, rolling over gentle waves and across beaches. Through palm trees, past coconuts and across grasses. Sweeping across a quiet lagoon the cool air crashes into...
After the Cold War ended, The World took a left turn and was twisted into an atmosphere of pure weirdness. Old foes became friends, the Soviet Union broke up into at least a dozen...
PART 3: Critical Decisions and Events of the Mid-1980s. I was an F-14 RIO who joined my first Fleet fighter squadron in 1981. In 1982 I attended the Topgun class as a student (by then it was five weeks), and in 1984 I was selected to return as an instructor. The following events and decisions occurred during my time as an instructor and contributed to Topgun’s evolution and continued validity.
PART 2: Topgun’s Early Years: the Foundation (Navy Fighter Weapons School F-5E Tiger II gets close for a photo.) When considering why Topgun flourished, much credit must go to the enduring culture established by...
(F-5F, F-5E, and A-4 provided a wide range of threats to challenge Navy fighter pilots and RIOs.) Have you ever wondered how the Navy’s Topgun program became a world-renowned center of excellence in the...
(photo by David Brown) I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dave “Bio” Baranek, a former TOPGUN instructor and author in his own right! He is the author of “TOPGUN DAYS, Dogfighting, Cheating Death...
What is a Photocall? A Photocall is generally when a location such as a military base or an airport, which is normally closed to the public is opened for a day for photographers to...
On the 11th of March 2012, the USS Enterprise starts its last cruise, the next seven months she will be serving with the 5th and 6th US-fleet. After that she will be taken out...
Aviation History / Base Visits / demo teams / fighters / Formation Flying / meetings / Special Events / U.S. Air Force / warbirds
4 Mar, 2022
Aerobatics / Airshow / Aviation History / Aviation Record Setters / Formation Flying / legends / meetings / military / museums / oshkosh / Special Aviation Events / warbirds
6 Jul, 2019
Mike Wiskus: “I’m Going Out at the Top of My Game!”
30 Oct, 2021
The Human(-itarian) Side of 2021’s AirVenture
22 Aug, 2021
Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth
