Brain joins us to talk about Marine aviation over the last 35 years. Consequently, the conversation turns into a time machine through flight school disasters, deployment memories, and the strange logic behind becoming a military test pilot.
We start north of Kandahar and immediately settle into the kind of storytelling that only happens after too much coffee and too many flight hours. Furthermore, there are stories about Bulldog, VMU-2, and the personalities that shaped Marine aviation careers forever. Some are inspirational. Some are deeply questionable.
The flight school memories are painfully familiar. There are favorite aircraft debates, instructors who changed lives, and the realization that nobody really knows what they’re doing at first. However, some pilots get very good at pretending.
Eventually, the discussion shifts into Test Pilot School. That rabbit hole includes engineering brains, weird flying qualities testing, and the reality that becoming a test pilot involves far more studying than Hollywood promised. Also, there’s a surprisingly emotional tribute to Otis — a Great American.
Of course, this being So There I Was, the episode constantly swerves between heartfelt and completely ridiculous. One minute it’s Afghanistan. The next it’s “My Daughter Married a Marine.”
Huge thanks to our sponsor, DC Artworks. Their custom aviation metalwork, squadron art, whiskey glasses, and insanely cool aviation projects continue to impress us every week. Go check them out at DCArtworks.net.
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