Written by Dave “Bio” Baranek One of the principles Topgun taught us was that if you leave an engagement, you should not go back in. There were examples from combat (and other Topgun classes) of fighters becoming engaged and bugging out, and then re-engaging with bad results, such as being shot down. On a 4vUNK…
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Our resident fighter pilot/author/movie producer – Paco Chierici – has just come back from a short trip to sunny San Diego where he spent 2 days studying and flying the F5 (the Canadian CF-5D version) and the SIAI-Marchetti S.211 to get type-rated in both planes for future flying opportunities. It’s been 13 years since Paco…
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Life is a story. And life lived on the edge is usually a great story. When I was flying supersonic fighters surrounded by larger-than-life personalities, I felt I was living a bifurcated experience. On the one hand, I was enmeshed in the action, drinking up each moment. And on the other, as a person with…
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This was Bio’s first book, published in 2012. It was also my first exposure to Bio and his exciting stories about becoming a Naval Flight Officer & RIO in the magnificent F-14 Tomcat. Amongst other topics, Bio talks a lot about his involvement in the making of the famous (original) Top Gun movie, starring Tom…
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The Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) was a large and sophisticated camera pod carried by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. It contains three camera bays with different type cameras which are pointed down at passing terrain. It was originally designed to provide an interim aerial reconnaissance capability until a dedicated F/A-18 Hornet reconnaissance version could…
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With the F-16 still one of the most prolific Western Fighter Jets in service today, Lockheed Martin has not stood still when it comes to keeping this beautiful but deadly lady up-to-date with modern technologies. Designed to operate to 2070 and beyond, the new Block 70 is built on the capabilities of the F-16V advanced…
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For naval aviation fans – particularly lovers of the F-14 Tomcat – one of the first mainstream movies that brought Grumman’s beautiful and deadly interceptor to fame was the movie “The Final Countdown”, released in Aug 1980. The movie is based around the rather fanciful premise of the USS Nimitz accidentally travelling back in time…
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A few days before Christmas (2019), Paco was the guest star & co-commentator of the very first DCS Speed & Angels Tournament, hosted by Iron Mike (from Heatblur Simulations) & 104th Maverick (from the 104th Phoenix VFBS). It was a long 4.5 hour event from start to finish, but the Red & Blue force pilots…
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I was flying with the maintenance officer. We’d been in Hong Kong for about five days, so you pull into port and you have a good time and go out and drink and don’t think about flying aeroplanes for five or six days and you know, the next day you pull back out to sea…
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I ran across a great video on YouTube discussing the basics of SEAD (acronym for Suppression of Enemy Air Defence.) The SEAD mission is vital in the air battle environment, whether it’s over land or sea, because the ability for the bad guys to shoot down your planes is extremely detrimental to any air power.…
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