You’re at 20,000 feet and 550 knots in your F-16 and your instructor pilot (IP) just demonstrated a perfect offensive BFM (Basic Fighter Maneuver) engagement. Now, it’s your turn to show him what you’ve learned. He yells out on the radio, ‘You have the aircraft!” You respond, “Roger Sir, I have the aircraft!” and waits for you to shake the stick (meaning you’re now in control.) Are you really ready to fly that $30 million piece of machinery? Are you prepared, focused, and ...
"We’re each of us angels with one wing, and can only fly by embracing each other" Luciano De Crecenzo Mayday is the universally recognized call of distress. It’s a call you never want to make, but it could be the most important call of your life. Fighter pilots use it during extreme emergency situations – when we lose an engine, are getting prepared to eject from an un-flyable aircraft, or even when witnessing an emergency of one of our wingmen. Mayday translates to ...
“Survival is when you’re focused on the competition. Winning is when you’re focused on the customer!” Waldo Waldman Many of you have heard me emphasize that no fighter pilot ever flies a combat mission solo. We always fly as a team – with our wingmen. It’s impossible to win solo because the missions are very complex and change so rapidly. As a unified team, we assign roles and responsibilities to each member of the formation, train accordingly, and finally – hold ...
I’ve got a secret for you. The best fighter pilots aren’t those who ‘pull the most G’s’, fly the fastest low levels, or perform the best aerobatics. The best (the Top Guns) are the ones who discipline themselves to consistently follow tried and tested processes. Whether it is radar mechanics, surface attack tactics, or low altitude navigation, the key to peak performance in highly volatile and challenging environments is following critical processes and training accordingly. The same holds true for sales. ...
someone others can ...Picture this – You’re on a combat mission in the no-fly zone in southern Iraq at 19,000 feet. Your wingman is 2 miles away directly to your left. Suddenly, you hear him scream over the radio. "Break Right, Break Right! Missile launch your 6 O’clock!!” Instinctively, you crank the stick to the right, bank the aircraft 90 degrees, and pull back as hard as you can as the g forces compress you back into the seat. You lower the ...
In the world of the fighter pilot, being a wingman means you’re trusted to go to battle…it means you’re mission ready. It’s a position of honor that incurs tremendous responsibility and sacrifice, but it also comes with incredible rewards. You have to earn the right to be a wingman, and it’s a bi-product of sacrifice and many hours of hard work. Being a wingman in business and life also has to be earned. It means you are someone others can ...
