Fighter Pilot Podcast
E. Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello, Retired U.S. Navy Fighter Pilot
The Fighter Pilot Podcast explores the fascinating world of air combat: the aircraft, the weapons systems, and most importantly—the people.Episodes typically feature guests who help explain various military aviation-themed topics, such as how ejection seats work or what it's like to fly on and off nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.If you love the roar of a high-speed flyby or are enamored by the poise and confidence of the brave men and women who fly, fix, and fight these aircraft, then this show is for you!For advertising, partnerships or other business opportunities, please contact: chris.wilson@monster.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 23, 2023 • 2h 5min
FPP178 - All about Landing Signal Officers with "Jamboy"
U.S. Navy F/A-18 pilot Joe "Jamboy" Kirksey, a career LSO currently serving as "Force Paddles" at the Chief of Naval Air Forces in San Diego, explains the history of LSOs assisting fixed-wing aircraft on aircraft carriers, how LSOs are trained and whether they and their grading methods are still necessary with the advent of Precision Landing Mode.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Oct 16, 2023 • 1h 47min
Leadership and the USS Gerald R Ford with "Yank"
Retired U.S. Navy Captain J.J. "Yank" Cummings joins FPP cohost Matt "Flounder" Arny to talk Tomcats, flight school, surface warfare, nuclear power, Top Gun: Maverick, and above all, how to lead when in charge of the first ship in a new class of aircraft carriers that has had its share of bad press.Visit jjcummingsleadership.com to learn more about Yank and his exploits since leaving uniform service.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Oct 9, 2023 • 1h 26min
Building and Flying the Stratolaunch 'Roc'
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Evan "Ivan" Thomas joins cohost Ken "Primetime" Katz to discuss the Stratolaunch Roc—the world's largest aircraft initially designed to haul space vehicles into the upper atmosphere that instead found purpose providing commercial "access to the hypersonic" environment.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Oct 2, 2023 • 1h 4min
FPP177 - The End of VMFAT-101 (for now)
MCAS Miramar-based Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 101 closes its doors after 50+ years of teaching U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators first in the F-4 Phantom and then the F/A-18 Hornet. On this episode, the final VMFAT-101 Commander, LtCol Ryan "Yoshi" Franzen and the -101 Operations Officer Maj Erik "Tucker" Rheinhart share the Sharpshooter history and legacy, and what's next for USMC F/A-18 training.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Sep 25, 2023 • 1h 10min
FPP176 - RF-4 Photo Phantoms with "Racehorse"
On this repurposed 2021 'Happy Hour' discussion, retired U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Larry "Racehorse" Rannals describes his career beginning as a Naval Flight Officer before converting to pilot via Air Force flight training and flying the RF-4 in Vietnam--in both seats!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Sep 11, 2023 • 1h 31min
FPP175 - MiG Killer Reconciles with Former Enemy
Robert Dosé was a World War 2 fighter pilot who downed an Imperial Japanese aircraft. Thirty years later, his son Curtis downed a Vietnamese MiG-21, making them the only father-son duo to each achieve aerial victories in combat."Dozo," as Curt is known, joins us this week to describe the May 10, 1972 engagement and reconciliation with his former enemy 40+ years later. A TOPGUN graduate and test pilot, Dozo also performed much of the aircraft carrier suitability testing on the F-14 Tomcat.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Aug 21, 2023 • 49min
FPP174 - Green Phantoms, Pink Jags, and the Shah of Iran with "Ed"
Nelson "Ed" Cobleigh is a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and Vietnam veteran-turned author who flew the A-4 Skyhawk, F-4 Phantom, Jaguar, F-104 Starfighter, and F-16 Fighting Falcon, among others.This episode is adapted from a 2022 'Happy Hour' discussion over Zoom.Visit Ed's website here.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Aug 7, 2023 • 2h 12min
FPP173 - Fighter Pilot Legacy with "Guido"
Retired U.S. Navy Captain Jim "Guido" Dimatteo is the son of a WW2 fighter pilot, himself a former A-4, F-14, F-16N, F/A-18 pilot and still an F-5 pilot, the former purveyor of a successful bar & restaurant, a rugby veteran, former Director of the Red Bull Air Races, Director of the Breitling Jet Team North American tour, and so much more as you will learn on this exciting episode.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Jul 31, 2023 • 49min
Fly Girls Revolt: The Women Who Kicked Open the Door to Fly in Combat
FPP friend and occasional cohost, Ken Katz, welcomes back to the show Dr. Eileen Bjorkman to discuss her new book, Fly Girls Revolt: The Story of the Women Who Kicked Open the Door to Fly in Combat.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Jul 24, 2023 • 1h 52min
FPP172 - Rogers E. Smith: The Test Pilot Who Flew Everything
Rogers E. Smith is a Canadian-American pilot who served in the RCAF, U.S. Marines, and U.S. Air National Guard and spent a long career testing nearly every American fighter (and several Russian ones), despite never attending a formal test pilot school!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
