Hired Gun Aviation

So... did you spend Saturday doing what you love?
Could be aerobatics.
Could be Netflix.
Could be traveling.
Could be cake.
Let us know!

(And pop in tomorrow for an epic coffee, too!)

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

Felt like a long-ish week?
Diving toward Friday?
Almost there, legends!

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

Image credit: Rosalie Fox
https://www.facebook.com/rosalie.fox.2023

FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
It was January 1991, and Operation Desert Storm had just begun.
Major Emmett Tullia, flying an F-16, streaked into the airspace above Baghdad - and all hell broke loose.
Anti-aircraft fire turned the sky dark, a haze of missiles, detonating munitions, and tracer fire instantly blotting out visibility. The war was on - and it was every man for himself.

Then, a cockpit alarm: Major Tullia's aircraft had been radar locked, and he'd become the target of a surface-to-air missile, coming up at him at supersonic speed, with only seconds to spare before impact.
Tullia threw the F-16 into a hard evasive turn, triggering flares in an attempt to throw off the missile.

Nothing happened.
Disbelievingly, he tried again. Still nothing.
Tullia's entire flare and chaff ejection system had jammed.

There was only one thing to do: evade the missile.
Incredibly, he did, and it detonated only 300 meters from his cockpit.
Then - another missile on its way! And a third, and a fourth.
Tullia had become a sitting duck in a deadly game.

He took a deep breath, even as two more missiles streaked upward from the base below him.

For a full six minutes, Major Tullia manually evaded another five (!) ground-to-air missiles, pulling incredible 9G turns and climbs, whipping the F-16 through a firestorm of debris and flame and smoke, pursued by enemy missiles that just wouldn't quit.
The ferocity of his maneuvers resulted in torn muscles and burst blood vessels, with large areas of his body afterward looking as if he'd been beaten to a pulp.
But he pulled it off - and a cockpit video of his incredible feat is still used to train fighter pilots.

Singlehandedly, he evaded and outmaneuvered six enemy missiles that should have killed him. When systems failed and technology broke down, the skill of an extraordinary pilot was revealed.
Tullia came out bruised and bloodied, but unbeaten - and then went back to kick ass.
But that's another story.

Incredible work, Major.
We salute you.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

Proudly powered by Hired Gun Coffee.
Happy Hump Day, legends!

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

It's hard one to get wrong!
That's our boss, El Capitan himself, sitting at his desk while he waves to the crowds.
If you were lucky enough to be at the Wonderboom Air Show, you were in for a treat.
And if you're wondering what the most skilled display pilots in the country drink to get them up for the most thrilling performances you'll ever see - wonder no more.

We have it.
You can have it too.
Just come on by.
Have an amazing day, legends!

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1967.
Captain Bob Pardo and Captain Earl Aman were on a bombing run over a North Vietnamese steel mill.
Suddenly: vicious anti-aircraft fire from a concealed weapons installation on the ground.
Both F-4 Phantom fighter jets were hit, and Aman almost immediately lost all his fuel.
But Captain Bob Pardo wasn't going to leave his buddy to bail out deep over enemy territory.
There was only one thing he could try.

Pardo instructed Aman to lower his tailhook - a simple device designed to catch an elasticized cable to arrest the fighter jet's momentum as it landed on an aircraft carrier.
Carefully, Pardo, eased forward, touching the windscreen of his F-4 to his wingman's tailhook, inches from his own face. Then, he began to push - literally propelling both aircraft forward, despite one of his own engines being on fire.
Nobody had ever attempted anything so insane - or so skilled.
The hook slipped off the plexiglass every 20 or 30 seconds, and they had to reset innumerable times.
Finally, 142km later, rapidly losing altitude and with only 2 minutes of fuel left in Pardo's F-4, they edged over the border, and were able to both eject safely over the jungles of Laos.

Bob Pardo broke every rule in the book.
He was severely reprimanded, but later awarded the Silver Star for valor.
By his own reckoning, though, he didn't set out to prove anything.
"I just wasn't gonna let my friend be captured by the Vietcong," said Pardo. "And I know he would've done the same for me."
Pardo's daring exploit became the stuff of legend.
And so did he.

Bob Pardo passed on last year at the age of 89, but his act of valor is written into aviation history.

Fly high, Colonel Pardo.
Rest easy.
And thank you for your service.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
WWII combat ace.
Chuck Yeager's chase pilot.
Limitation-shattering aerobatics pilot.
A man General James Doolittle called "the greatest stick and rudder pilot who ever lived".

This is the legendary Bob Hoover.
Shot down during WWII, escaped from a POW camp, and stole a German fighter aircraft to fly to freedom.
After the war, he became a test pilot - the man Chuck Yeager chose as aircrew and chase pilot for his epoch-defining Mach 1 flight in October 1947.
Hoover then went on to become the most accomplished aerobatics pilot in history.
He set incredible time-to-climb and speed records, and was the first man to pour a cup of tea upside down, during a 1G barrel roll in his P-51 Mustang.
Hoover was personal friends with pilots like Neil Armstrong, Yuri Gagarin, Orville Wright, Charles Lindbergh, and Eddie Rickenbacker.

Hoover was more than a legend.
A recipient of dozens of wartime medals and civilian awards, he surpassed every standard of his time, and is a giant in the lore of modern aviation.
Bob Hoover passed on in 2016, at the age of 94.
His memorial was attended by more than 1500 people, including the greatest aviation pioneers in history, and by celebrities like Harrison Ford - a longtime admirer of Hoover. A US Air Force honor guard presented a flag to Hoover's family, and he was honored with 3 military fly-overs.

A great man.
And an incredible inspiration.
Thank you, sir.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
Imagine this guy coming after you.
Now imagine him coming after you in an A10-C Thunderbolt, capable of firing 3,900 rounds per minute from its Gatling gun, while launching precision missiles and strafing you like it's the flippin' 4th of July.
Plus, it's virtually impossible to shoot him down.

This is Lt. Colonel John "Karl" Marks of the US Air Force's 442nd Fighter Wing.
He's spent more than 7,000 hours in the air piloting a Thunderbolt, the legendary "Warthog" - more than any pilot in history - and he's old school.
In an era of laser-guided munitions and HUD sights, Marks still flies with a paper map and a pair of binoculars.
Just in case.

He's neutralized more enemy combatants than you can count, but Marks' defining moment came during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when he destroyed 23 Iraqi tanks in Kuwait in just one day. He's flown countless missions - including 6 tours of duty to Afghanistan - and incredibly, has never lost a single soldier on the ground during his overwatch.

The Taliban call the Warthog "The Monster" for good reason.
And with a pilot like Marks at the helm, it's easy to see why.

He's still flying.
The bad guys are still running.
We'll keep you posted.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
Holy smokes, legends.
The man who claimed *more aerial victories* than any other Allied pilot in WWII - almost 60 enemy aircraft - was a South African!
Pat Pattle was born in 1914, and his actual name was Marmaduke Thomas St John Pattle, which is seriously badass in itself.
He applied to join the South African Air Force, but was rejected - so when the Royal Air Force invited applicants, Pat seized his opportunity.
The dude had worked as a petrol attendant and as a miner, just to make ends meet, and paid for his own flying lessons. This was no quitter.

In Egypt, he flew a Gloster Gladiator, slower than the German and Italian aircraft, but he still terrorised his adversaries. Pattle developed a method of air combat that relied on diving down onto his opponents, racing head-on at the opposing aircraft, and pulling aside at the last split second as he opened fire.
It worked.

He was shot down by an Italian war ace over the Libyan border, but survived - and came back with a vengeance.
On December 20, 1940, he downed 13 enemy aircraft singlehandedly
And on February 28, 1941, his squadron shot down 27 enemy aircraft in just 90 minutes of combat - without suffering a single loss.
He became a respected leader and role model to his men, and pulled a ragtag outfit of assorted pilots together in an amazing way.

On April 20, 1941, Pattle took off on his final mission, suffering from a high fever but determined not to let his men down. In a pitched battle over the coast of Greece, Pattle raced to the rescue of a fellow ace under attack, and was shot down, this time fatally.

One of his friends and fellow RAF fighter pilot - who witnessed his last stand - was a man named Roald Dahl.
Yup. The children's writer.

Pat Pattle died at the age of just 26, but he made his mark.
And because the bravery of men like him, the tide turned, and history was made.

Rest easy, flight lieutenant Pattle.
And thank you.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
Legends, does this guy not look exactly like Superman?
Well, he pretty much was.
This is Sailor Malan, WWII Spitfire pilot and combat ace.
Born in 1910, he joined the Navy at age 14. (Yup.)
Then, in 1936, he joined the Royal Air Force and became a pilot.
Not just any pilot, mind you.
He flew during the evacuation of Dunkirk, downing enemy aircraft like we down coffees.
In other words, plenty.

He became such a badass that the Germans downright feared him - in fact, he even wrote down "Malan's Ten Rules for Air Fighting", which became a manual on how to shoot down your opponent. It contained gems like "Don't shoot until you see the whites of his eyes", and "Never fly straight for more than 30 seconds in a combat area" and "Go in quickly - punch hard - get out!".

Malan became one of the highest scoring pilots to have served with Air Command in WWII - 27 kills, 7 shared destroyed aircraft, 2 unconfirmed, 3 probables, and 16 damaged enemy aircraft.
His exploits were the stuff of legend.

Malan's other superpower was his strength of character.
After the war, he became a sheep farmer - and was also vocally opposed to the apartheid system which had come into law.
Malan then faced one last deadly enemy: Parkinson's Disease.
He fought long and valiantly, but in 1963, at the age of just 53, Sailor Malan passed away.

The government refused to allow a military funeral for Malan. Members of the military who attended his funeral were ordered not to wear their uniforms, and the South African Air Force was instructed not to give any tribute to his passing.

But we will.
Rest in peace, Group Captain.
We remember.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
He first flew at the age of 8.
At 12, he resolved to go to West Point one day and become an officer.
Robin Olds was the original Maverick.
After graduation he became a pilot - and entered the battlefield skies of WWII.
Olds ultimately became a highly decorated Triple Ace, credited with shooting down 17 enemy aircraft during WII and the Vietnam War.
His exploits were legendary - and borderline insane.
He once engaged in an aerial dogfight while piloting a dead-engined aircraft, and on another occasion, descended and whipped around so aggressively that the G-force ripped his cockpit canopy clean off in mid-air.
Oh, and he also landed his P-51 Mustang with half a wing blown off, even though he could have ejected - because he felt he owed it to the plane that had served him so well.
He was also a rebel.
He sported an epic moustache, against Air Force regulations.
Olds hated petty authority.
His individualism stalled his career, but he was already a legend.
In Vietnam, Olds was rated as the greatest air wing commander of the entire war, and was credited with shooting down several enemy MiG-17s and MiG-21s against staggering odds during surprise dogfights.

In 2007, aged 84, Olds passed away, but his legacy lives on.
And today, we raise a coffee (and a few other beverages) to his memory.
Awesome stuff, Colonel Olds.
Awesome stuff.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.

Y'know, great coffee is like great aviation.
Both require discipline and training.
Both require a touch of flair and daring.
Both heighten your senses and leave you exhilarated.

And sometimes... you need to just stamp your soul onto whatever it is that brings you joy.

Sometimes it's a science.
Sometimes it's an art.
And here at Hired Gun, you can have both.
Just sayin'.

Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.