Read what military pilots have to say about flying some of the most incredible fighting aircraft ever built. "It's like a $20 million strap on carnival ride," - AH-64 Apache Pilot "I had high expectations, and it's beat eery one of those. The whole jet is awesome." - F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot. The role of the pilot has changed hugely in the last sixty years of military aviation. Jet pilots in the 1960s, flying types such as the Harrier and F-102, would have spent a huge portion of their concentration just keeping the aircraft under control. That left little spare mental capacity to locate and engage the enemy. Today, the opposite is true. Computers have made flying so simple that it is now considered very easy to fly the SAAB Gripen or Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, allowing the pilot to focus fully on his or her mission. G-Force Flying the World's Greatest Aircraft is a celebration of the experience of flying some of aviation's most spectacular, powerful, and dangerous machines, from early jet fighters such as the F-86 Sabre and MiG-15 to today's F-22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon. Packed with first-hand interviews with test and combat pilots from the world's air forces, and illustrated with extensively researched and striking imagery, G-Force Flying the World's Greatest Aircraft is thrilling ride alongside the pilots who fly the aircraft every day. Featuring first-hand accounts of combat over Korea in the MiG-15, endurance missions in the B-2, and bombing Iraqi targets in the Tornado, this book puts the reader directly in the pilot's seat, and will appeal to aviation enthusiasts of all ages.

More than thirty Allied Forces' WWII aircraft types are illustrated in many rare and previously unpublished black and white and color photographs. Each type is described giving vital data on development history, combat record, famous pilots and significant air battles. Performance, range and weapon loads are also included. The unique color photographs are from the collection of the late William B. Slate, an aviation photographer who strove to capture the thrilling perspective that can only come from close-up, in-flight vantage points from an aircraft flying in formation.

Soaring high above the fields and cities of Europe and Asia as well as the vast expanse of the Pacific, Allied and Axis pilots engaged in a deadly battle for control of the skies in World War II. Whoever won the skies would win the war. Published in association with the National Museum of World War II Aviation, Storm of Eagles is a fully illustrated coffee-table book that brings together classic as well as never-before-seen wartime images. Compiled by one of the world's premier aviation photographers and historians, this remarkable volume is a must-have for anyone interested in World War II aviation.

This publication provides safety information and guidance to those involved in the certification, operation, and maintenance of high-performance former military aircraft to help assess and mitigate safety hazards and risk factors for the aircraft within the context provided by Title 49 United States Code (49 U.S.C.) and Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), and associated FAA policies. Specific models include: A-37 Dragonfly, A-4 Skyhawk, F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-104 Starfighter, OV-1 Mohawk, T-2 Buckeye, T-33 Shooting Star, T-38 Talon, Alpha Jet, BAC 167 Strikemaster, Hawker Hunter, L-39 Albatros, MB-326, MB-339, ME-262, MiG-17 Fresco, MiG-21 Fishbed, MiG-23 Flogger, MiG-29 Fulcrum, S-211. DISTRIBUTION: Unclassified; Publicly Available; Unlimited. COPYRIGHT: Graphic sources: Contains materials copyrighted by other individuals. Copyrighted materials are used with permission. Permission granted for this document only. Where applicable, the proper license(s) (i.e., GFD) or use requirements (i.e., citation only) are applied.

The pilot of the F-16 Viper, which is the U.S. Air Force’s frontline fighter and attack aircraft, is at the pinnacle of combat aviation. Viper Force tells the story of what it takes to become an F-16 pilot and what it’s like to fly and fight the Viper in combat. Because the F-16 is a dual-purpose combat aircraft, its pilot must master two widely divergent disciplines: air-to-air flying against enemy fighters to maintain control of the air over the battle field and air-to-ground flying in support of ground forces, soldiers, and marines, in contact. The crucible for creation of the Viper pilot is the air force’s 56th Fighter Wing, the successor to World War II’s 56th Fighter Group, the legendary Zemke’s Wolpack, which also flew a fighter/attack aircraft, the P-47 Thunderbolt. Viper Force also provides an up-close and personal look at the F-16 Viper squadron at war with information on its missions, command and control in the air, and the crucially important but often overlooked maintenance and ordnance ground crew.

From its beginnings in 1907 as the Aeronautical Division of U.S. Armys Signal Corps, which consisted of one officer and two enlisted men, the United States Air Force has grown to become the foremost aerial armed force in the world. Although they had to fly French and British planes as the fledgling army aeronautical bureaucracy failed to procure any combat-worthy American aircraft, which arguably did not exist, American aviators performed valiantly in World War I with intrepid pilots of the such as Eddie Rickenbacker and Frank Luke leading the way. Between the wars, all of aviation, commercial and military around the world grew by leaps and bounds as the numbers of aircraft in service and their capabilities tremendously increased. Although the Army Air Corps, as it was known at the time, was no better prepared for World War II than the rest of the army, it had developed a highly professional corps of experienced officers who would be able to take advantage of the latest American aircraft technology such as the B-17 Flying Fortress and the P-51 Mustang. With the end of the war and the creation of an independent armed force in 1947, the United States Air Force leapt into the jet age with such icons as the F-86 Sabre and the remarkable B-52 Stratofortress, which "soldiers" on today more than fifty years after going into service in 1955 and with the youngest of the 744 plane production run being forty years old, having been built in 1962.Air Force covers the entire history of the U.S. Air Force and its development from its beginnings early in the last century to becoming the worlds largest, most powerful, and most versatile air-combat force. Special attention is paid to the air forces recent, post-Vietnam history, and an entire chapter is devoted to Americas air force of the future.