Port City Air Fixed Base Operations with Jamie McCarthy
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy-ninth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! This one was done on location so get ready for some cool background jet noise! My wife and I recently were guests of Port City Air, a Fixed Base Operations or FBO at my first base of assignment Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Port City Air has an incredible reputation among military fliers! I walked the ramp with Port City Air's Director of Flight Operations Jamie McCarthy while recording our conversation. We had a blast discussing what an FBO does, watching props, jets, and helos coming in and going...
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Busting SAMs by Iron Hand with Captain Bo Smith
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy-eighth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, KC-135 pilot, and author of the book Tanker Pilot. In the second episode with Navy Captain Bo Smith he explains Iron Hand missions, the methods and weapons the US Navy used to destroy Surface to Air Missile or SAM sites defending North Vietnam. Bo and his VA-82 Marauders A-7C Corsair II pilots developed tactics with the A-7C's improved avionics during the LINEBACKER I and LINEBACKER II air campaigns at the close of the Vietnam War. Leaving the Marauders...
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Flying the A-4 and A-7 with Navy Captain Bo Smith
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy-seventh episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show with your host retired Lt Col Mark Hasara, KC-135 pilot and Air Force Weapons School graduate. I was turned on to a great memoir website by my good friend Scott Brown. Navy Captain Bo Smith is responsible for helping create the Navy’s IRON HAND Surface to Air Missile or SAM suppression procedures during the Vietnam War. Bo started his Naval Aviation career with two Vietnam tours in the Douglas A-4B and A-4C Skyhawk with Attack Squadron VA-15 Valions. His third tour during the 1972 LINEBACKER I and LINEBACKER II...
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Lessons Learned with TC Cappelletti
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy-sixth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara. My circle of friends has expanded because of my book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit. One of those great friends has vast experience in almost every Boeing airliner... 727, 737, 757, 767, and the Lockheed L-1011 I found out during this show. My good buddy TC Cappelletti is also one of the most knowledgeable military historians I know because he's a voracious reader of history. And most of the books in his library are signed by the folks in those books. TC shares several lessons learned...
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Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to another episode, the seventy-fifth, of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I am your host Mark Hasara and for over 60 years my passion has been aviation. The situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Adan has everyone's attention. It's the continuation of the Proxy War between western powers and the Ayatollahs of Iran and their influence with the Houthi Rebels in Yemen, attacking shipping in one of the largest and wealthiest waterways on the planet. America and our allies have been here before, sometimes with tragic results. The USS Cole was nearly sunk in the Yemeni harbor of Adan after...
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Guns, MIGs, SAMs, and a Push
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy-fourth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara, retired KC-135 pilot, author, and entrepreneur! We laid to rest another American veteran this week involved in one of the greatest air strikes of Air Force histroy. He left his mark on aviation because of his incredible courage in the face of overwhelming enemy odds, innovative technique to save two commrades, and airmanship in pulling off a feat which almost got him court martialed. Twenty-two years later an evaluation board awarded him the Silver Star for his efforts to save lives. On this...
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Mole Crickets and Poobah’s Party: Electronic Warfare
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy-third episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! I am your host Mark Hasara, former KC-135 pilot and air war planner. The US Air Force is replacing the EC-130H Compass Call with the Gulfstream G550 EA-37B, missioinized to perform the same electronic warfare missions and functions. This episode describes what some of those functions are and gives historical examples from air operations how electronic warfare dominated the battlefield... Israeli Air Force Operation Mole Cricket 19 and the Bekka Valley Turkey Shoot to the opening night of Operation Desert Storm...
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Airlift Tanker Association 2023 Report
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy-second episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara, former KC-135 pilot and aviation geek! My wife Valerie and I attended Air Mobility Command's Symposium at the Gaylord Texan resort in Grapevine Texas. The A/TA Convention aero and cyberspace Industry Exposition was fantastic and I wanted to mention a few things I experienced while walking the Industry Floor... like the Remote Vision System 2.0 now being retrofitted in the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker. General Mike Minihan, commander of Air Moility Command gavve an Did you know airlifters now...
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Flying C-17 Globemaster IIIs with Lee Hunt
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventy first episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit Podcast! I'm your host Mark Hasara, retired KC-135 pilot and 24 plus year veteran of the US Air Force. The C-17 is arguably one of the world's best heavy lift aircraft. Lee Hunt flew The Moose as the C-17 is nicknamed during major theater air campaigns and humanitarian missions. Lee tells listeners about his experiences flying the first end of runway cargo drop to planning missions to the Pegasus Runway in Antarctica. One of the best parts of our discussion is Lee's insights on how John Boyd's Observation - Orientation -...
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Stop or Start a War… Flexible Deterrent Options (FDOs)
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to the seventieth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast. This one is going to be a little different. For a long time I've contemplated doing TWO podcasts; the current Lessons from the Cockpit on aviation and another called On the Nation's DIME, looking at current events around the world analysed using The DIME. DIME is an acronymn for Diplomatic, Informational, Military and Economic... the elements of national power our government uses to analyse how powerful or weak a nation state or organization is absed on those four elements. Our government also uses the DIME as a...
info_outlineWelcome to the sixty-first episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast!
The Defense Department Budget is out and there are a number of aircraft coming into the inventory and a lot going to the Boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB Arizona. Platforms that I refueled from my KC-135 are going to be gone soon, and I voice my concerns about some of the aircraft being cut out of the inventory. My biggest concern is the health of the tanker fleet of course. There are some new aircraft on the horizon also and some of them are cosmic!
This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast is supported and financed by the book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit available on Amazon in all four formats; hardback, softback, Kindle, and Audible. The softback edition has pictures in black and white, and the hardback, Kindle, and Audible have pictures in color.
Aircraft spoken about in this episode are available from Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These are very detailed profiles of famous aircraft you can peel off and stick to any flat surface. Go take a look at the 128 Ready-to-Print profiles from World War II aircraft to modern aircraft. Wall Pilot can also create a graphic of your favorite aircraft with your name, unit, tail codes, and weapons loadout.
One of my favorite aircraft and fortunately have been able to fly in is the F-15. The 44th Fighter Squadron Vampires were recently deactivated at Kadena Air Base Okinawa and this Eagle jet was one of their jets that deployed to the Middle East with the CHAOS nose art.
This 64th Aggressor Squadron F-16C was named WRAITH because of its black paint scheme. I like this black Darth Vader scheme!
The KC-10 Extender inventory will be reduced by 10 aircraft this year. The KC-10 has been called the "Gucci Bird" because of its nice ride. This is a Gucci Bird from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB California.
The E-3B Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS aircraft from the 961st Air Control Squadron is based at Kadena Air Base Okinawa. The AWACS will be replaced by some future platform, probably the 737 Wedgetail flown by other Air Forces.
The B-1B Lancer bomber has been a workhorse of the Global War on Terror, nicknamed The Bone. This B-1B is the flagship of the 77th Weapons Squadron, the US Air Force Weapons School Bone division based at Dyess Air Force Base Texas.
Thanks for downloading and listening to my podcast. We are over 15,000 downloads now and I appreciate all of you who listen. This and previous episodes of the Lesson from the Cockpit podcast can be found on my website at markhasara.com