Mission to Mach 2: A Fighter Pilot's Memoir of Supersonic Flight

by Robert Earl Haney, Lee Courtnage

Overview

The thirty-year period that marked the advent of the supersonic jet in military aviation was a particularly dangerous one for fighter pilots. As they learned to navigate speeds up to Mach 2, discovering the performance limits and weaknesses of the aircraft, their courage and stamina were tested to the limit.

This engaging memoir relates the life story of a famed pilot who flew supersonic jets for the United States Air Force during the Cold War through Vietnam and beyond. As a test pilot, a member of the USAF Thunderbirds, a fighter pilot with more than 200 combat missions in the Vietnam War, and a Fighter Weapons School ("Top Gun") graduate and instructor, he was at the center of the most significant periods in military aviation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786463169
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	05/12/2011
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Colonel Robert Earl Haney served in the United States Air Force from 1952 to 1982—a long and decorated career. The late Lee Courtnage lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Preface 1

Introduction Lee Courtnage 5

1 Breaking the Sound Barrier 9

2 My First Mentors 14

3 Aviation Cadet: Jet Age Training 30

4 Supersonic Flight: The F-86 42

5 Fighter Jet Nuclear Capability 49

6 Flight Test 65

7 Return to Tactical Fighters 84

8 USAF Thunderbirds 95

9 Southeast Asian War 129

10 Fighter Weapons School: Terminal Guided Weapons 159

11 Air War College and Test and Evaluation 170

12 Operational Testing 181

13 Field Commander 192

14 The Last Day 202

15 Epilogue 208

Index 217

Editorial Reviews

fascinating...recommended”—LJ Xpress Reviews.

From the Publisher

fascinating...recommended

LJ Xpress Reviews