Category: fighters

November 23, 2013

Topgun in the Mid-1980s: Building on the Legacy – Part Two

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 the earliest instructors and handed...

featured / fighters / military / navy

November 17, 2013

Topgun in the Mid-1980s: Building on the Legacy – Part One

(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 serious business of air combat?...

air force / fighters / military

October 9, 2013

A Day at the Range

When I got the phone call in the middle of the day, I was sitting in a heat, that we Southern Californians do not normally get. Hot and humid, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon. On the other...

air force / europe / fighters / military

October 2, 2013

Peter Boschert visits Buchel

Fighter-Bomber-Wing 33 was formed at Büchel in 1958. In the last 55 years, it flew the F-84F, 1962 it transitioned to the F-104G which was replaced in 1985 with the still flown Tornado IDS. From 01st October 2013, the...

air force / europe / fighters / military

October 2, 2013

PETER BOSCHERT IN NANCY-OCHEY

The Fighter Squadron EC 03.003 “Ardennes” belongs to the French Air Force and is flying the Mirage 2000D from Nancy-Ochey. Fighter Sqaudron 03.003 (in french EC 03.003) “Ardennes” was decorated for its missions in Afghanistan and Lybia, the Squadron...

fighters / POF / post / warbirds

August 27, 2013

CAF “Celebrating America’s Aviation Heritage” 2013

On August 17th and 18th, the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force held their annual air show at their Headquarters in Camarillo, California. With the lack of military air shows due to the on going fiscal budget...

fighters / POF

August 6, 2013

WHISTLING DEATH – Solomon Islands & The Vought F4U Corsair

Living History Day On the first Saturday of every month, the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California holds a ‘Living History Day’. The Air Museum focuses on a specific event or a specific aircraft, and honors those...

air force / europe / fighters / military

August 1, 2013

Ich melde mich ab! (I sign out!)

And another iconic aircraft disappears out of the European skies. Like the Harrier, the Tornado ADF, Mirage F-1M and the A-10C before the McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom II was withdrawn from use by the Luftwaffe after forty years of...

assignments / fighters / Marines / military

July 30, 2013

1st Marine F-35B to land at MCAS Miramar

It was around noon on July 30, 2013, and several F/A-18’s from Marine squadrons, VMFA 314 “The Black Knights” and VMFA(AW) 225 “The Vikings” were taking off from the runways at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, just northeast of...

fighters / oshkosh / warbirds

July 25, 2013

Half a Lifetime Ago at Oshkosh 1986….

How did I get to writing this? I was scanning all these P-51s. I started to write the history and “where they are now” on each of them. I saw the family pictures and figured and decided that maybe...

air force / europe / fighters

July 13, 2013

Flying F-15E Mission Training in the U.K.

“Ratch 2, you’re cleared for take-off”. The dark grey Strike Eagle thunders down the runway only seconds after we got the take-off clearance from the tower in RAF Lakenheath. The acceleration is amazing after my pilot Chris “Skull” Bridges...

air force / europe / fighters / museums

June 5, 2013

Força Aérea Portuguesa

The history of the Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP – Portuguese Air Force) goes back to 1911 when a balloon company was founded. The first aircraft did not arrive till the early twenties but during WWI Portuguese pilots fought along...