I’ve been fascinated with technology since I was very young. I just didn’t know I had a gift for it.

That changed when my grandmother reacted with such amazement after seeing me install Age of Empires II on the family computer at the age of five.

The ego boost was short-lived. I quickly realized she offered the same level of enthusiasm when congratulating her dog, Chuckie, for finally defecating and NOT eating it.

Not all hope was lost.

After an engineering degree and 20 years of highly competitive athletics, I joined the Navy to fly fighters, thinking that must be the apex intersection of brains and brawn.

That was until I naively asked the youngest guy in the squadron to help me figure out why my flight plan wasn’t submitting on Foreflight. He ripped the iPad out of my analog hands, fixed my errors, and called me a ‘Boomer’.

Persevering through it all, my love for science and technology still burns bright. That, mixed with my love of health and fitness, makes me the perfect sucker for wearable tech or anything with a heart rate monitor.

Health Trackers for Flight

For the last half-decade, my life has revolved around flying high-performance military aircraft and training my body to adapt (or not) to the physical demands of being a fighter pilot.

I recently wrote about what my Garmin watch taught me about adapting to high-performance flight—a weird mix of personal memoir and a poorly done science experiment.

Although Garmin might be the top dog of GPS-focused activity tracking—and a watch I wear daily—there is another big player in the space: Whoop.

Whoop is a device very similar to any other fitness tracker, but its focus is on recovery and ensuring the stress you put on your body is managed optimally so you’re recovered for the next day.

In my world, this can mean being maximally prepared going into a long day of dogfighting.

So when I saw Chase partnered with Whoop for a free year membership, I had to try it out.

Why the Whoop Band Caught My Eye

When searching my email inbox the other day, I discovered I ordered and canceled a Whoop 3.0 order back in 2020. I remember thinking it was cool, but I didn’t feel it was worth the cost to try it after all.

So what changed and why is this time different?

Maybe it was my indoctrination into the cult-like world of health and fitness optimization via Andrew Huberman, Bryan Johnson, or Peter Attia.

Or maybe I finally fell for the marketing, seeing it on the wrists of many of my favorite athletes like Charles Leclerc or Mathieu van der Poel.

Subconscious brainwashing aside, this time, the reasons for trying it out were simple: sleep, recovery, and figuring out what my diet is actually doing to my body.

My Garmin Fenix is still a great watch that I use daily and it does have sleep tracking as well as a newly introduced lifestyle journal for correlating behaviors to results like Whoop.

The issue is that Garmin’s sleep algorithm is one of the worst, and if you can’t accurately track sleep and therefore recovery, the cause-and-effect correlation is weakened. Not to mention the Garmin Connect app is absolute garbage.

Waking up to my Garmin telling me to ‘take it easy today’, but not knowing what I did in my training or lifestyle to warrant this advice, caused me to quickly disregard it as spam.

Whoop’s hardware is nothing special beyond being extremely comfortable to wear. Where it really shines is in the software. It technically measures all the same data as any other popular device out there, but where Whoop differentiates itself is helping you understand what to do with it.

The Data

Whoop provides feedback by measuring three areas of health: sleep, recovery, and strain. It displays this data, similar to Apple, in a ring layout.

Ideally, you fill up both the Sleep and Recovery rings every day, and the Strain ring to the algorithm’s recommendation. As the robot-subordinate human, you must always comply with Overlord Algorithm.

Just kidding (unless you’re reading this, Overlord). Let me explain the nuance of each category.

Sleep

The sleep score is calculated via Hours vs. Needed, Sleep Consistency, Sleep Efficiency, and High Sleep Stress.

All pretty self-explanatory. Did you sleep long enough? How about the quality? Did you use the time in bed to actually sleep, or were you tossing and turning, dreading the AI takeover?

What shocked me: Sleep Consistency. Maybe I’ve heard it a hundred times and it just went in one ear and out the other, but I never realized how impactful it is to go to bed and wake up at the exact same time. This is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned from my Whoop so far and has been my eye-opening (or closing?) to see.

Recovery

Recovery is calculated via Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Resting Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, and Sleep Performance.

Whoop, like any other wearable, is good at tracking cardio-based activities but struggles with weight-lifting activities. This is because the primary thing it measures is heart rate. That being said, however you decide to wear yourself out, Whoop can determine during the following night’s sleep how much of an impact that workout or near-death experience driving on Texas roads had on your body. And it’s really good at it.

What shocked me: I have a tendency to do whatever workout sounds good to me that day. Going for an Alpe du Zwift PR on a hungover Sunday comes to mind—this confuses me too, trust me. But now, I do feel my recovery score is often in-line with how I feel and listening to it has helped me get more out of my workouts so far.

Strain

Strain is calculated via time in Zone 1-3, Zone 4-5, Strength Activity Time, and Steps. What is it? Some unitless number from 0 to 21 that seems to gain context as you use it.

This is where Whoop receives its biggest criticisms. For steady-state cardio, like running or biking, the heart rate data collected is quite good. For steps, it’s good-not-great, often performing worse than the Apple Watch or Garmin. For strength or HIIT, however, the Whoop often suffers when worn on the wrist. Similar to most wearables, but Whoop is often criticized for performing worse in this scenario than competitors.

What shocked me: The HR data may not be that good for HIIT/strength. Fine, whatever. But these skew toward anaerobic activites anyways. What really impressed me is, after the weightlfting session, you can input the exact workout with weights, reps, and sets, and your strain will update accordingly. This is all very subjective, of course, but Whoop is at the forefront of sports science and I find this so impressive. Even if it’s maybe not perfect yet.

Looking back to seven days ago, these were some of the bigger questions on my mind. I’m excited to finally have some answers.

7 Days Whoop FAQ

1. Why don’t I have a Recovery score yet?

   It takes four days and three nights of sleep to calibrate.

2. Is Whoop worth trying if you already own a Garmin or Apple Watch?

   I would say yes? Apple Watch provides basically no recovery/strain insights on its own and Garmin’s is just really rudimentary.

3. Do I have to start an activity to record the data?

   No! It usually detects when I’m doing something, but it is hit or miss on whether it labels that activity as something specific, like running, or keeps it generic.

4. Does wearing it 24/7 get annoying?

   No, actually, it’s so comfortable I can’t believe I ever wore my bulky Garmin Fenix to sleep.

5. How accurate is the sleep tracking compared to how you actually feel?

   I’d say extremely accurate and one of the best surprises. My Garmin seemed to say I slept poorly all the time; the Whoop so far feels incredibly aligned with how I’m feeling.

6. Has it actually changed your behavior yet, or are you just watching numbers?

   Just watching the numbers and waiting mostly, but I have tried to be more consistent with my sleep schedule since, even though it won’t provide a recovery score, you still can see the raw HRV or RHR values.

What I’m Looking Forward to Next

Over the coming two weeks, I’m really excited to see what I learn as the Whoop “unlocks”.

Whoop Age

After 21 days, Whoop calculates your "Whoop Age", a cardiovascular health score that tells you whether your body is aging faster or slower than your actual age. After years of stressful training and pulling Gs for a living, I'm equal parts excited and terrified to see the verdict.

HR Tracking: Whoop vs. Garmin

One of the biggest criticisms of Whoop is its heart rate accuracy compared to dedicated sports watches, and I happen to have one of the best often strapped to my other wrist. Over the next few weeks, I'll be running both simultaneously to see how in agreement they are.

The Journal: Connecting Dots

The Whoop Journal lets you log daily behaviors like diet, alcohol, caffeine, stress, and over time correlates them directly to your recovery score. After a few weeks of consistent logging, I hope to receive some non-scientific statistical analysis from the app.

Your Support

I write everything for free in the hopes that it will inspire and educate on what it’s like to fly planes in the world’s greatest Navy and to spread the joys of aviation in general.

If you enjoyed this article, you can show your support by checking out my store on Etsy, where I sell really cool aviation-themed streetwear clothing. It’s all designed by me, a real-life, very-average fighter pilot.

Navy OCS is 13 weeks, located in the beautiful Newport, Rhode Island.

But if you’re searching for this question, you already know the number isn’t all that you’re getting yourself into.

You want to know what the process is from turning any civilian off the street into an Ensign in the United States Navy.

Turning a lump of coal into a diamond takes intense energy in the form of heat, temperature, and time, and the OCS process from Indoc Candidate to CandiO can often feel similar.

Enough with the awful metaphors, this isn’t a PLA recruitment video. Let’s break it down.

The Big Picture: 4 Phases, 13 Weeks

Most articles say OCS has three phases: Indoc, JOC/SOC, and CandiO. Each one lasts three weeks for a total of twelve weeks.

While this is technically true, the last and best phase, Super CandiO, is tacked on at the end for out-processing and administrative paperwork. A bit of a victory lap, if you will. Call it thirteen.

Additionally, life, with its ups and downs, continues to roll on while at OCS. You might get injured, fail an event, or experience any number of unforeseen hardships that may increase your timeline. 13 weeks is the minimum and usual time people take to graduate OCS, but this can be extended by spending time in H-Company (holding).

I wrote a full breakdown of each phase if you want to go deeper, which will be linked in each subsection below.

Weeks 1–3: Indoctrination

This is the phase everyone fears. It’s your indoctrination into the military culture and that’s done with physical force. Being ballistic (yelling), PT-ing, and moving with a purpose are all new experiences you will be introduced to.

I enjoyed this. From ‘First Friday’ to ‘The Tour of Training Country’ to ‘RLP’, this is by far the most physical and shocking phase. You get to wear a US military uniform with your name on it for the first time ever and it really feels like you’ve made a massive step. Of course there are ups and downs, but overall, it’s exciting.

For loved ones: this can be a really tough phase for you at home. During these three weeks, they likely won’t be able to contact you at all via phone. You can expect an “I arrived safely” call when they first get there but then likely radio silence until the end of the phase and they’ve succesfully passed RLP. Mail, on the other hand, is always authorized. It’s distrubuted daily and can be a lifesaver—so write often!

👉 Read my full Indoc breakdown here

Weeks 4–9: JOC → SOC

This is the longest stretch, but it has a turning point built into the middle of it. A made-up fake turning point designated only by a change in uniform, but a turning point nonetheless.

Week 4 is the start of Junior Officer Candidate (JOC) phase and marks the beginning of becoming a scholar. A painfully boring torture experience when administered at OCS.

Week 7, another identity shift: you become a Senior Officer Candidate (SOC). More classroom pain and boredom, except now the torture is amplified by forcing the absorption of knowledge first through a set of khaki uniforms and then into your soul.

By far the worst phase, in hindsight. I longed for fresh air or the physical challenge of more than 1,000 steps in a day. Contraband caffeine pills were more popular than Creed in the 2000s. Hold me now.

For loved ones: You should now have the ability to talk on the phone with you Officer Candidate every Sunday. The slots are pre-scheduled usually the day before and aren’t very long. Hearing a familiar voice on the line is incredibly heartwarming.

👉 Read my full JOC/SOC breakdown here

Weeks 10–12: CandiO Phase

This is the phase that everyone dreams of as you climb the miserable ranks in Newport. You go from being led to leading (or something that resembles it) and your hat gets a nice upgrade. Life here is pretty great.

I had waited a long time to be able to walk around without marching or waiting for everyone to get their food so we could start eating. Being a PT DIV-O is still a highlight of my career. I just can’t quite remember doing all that much…

For loved ones: By now your near-Ensign should have their cell phone with full access to texting, calling, and emailing depending on the time of day and liberty status. Rejoice!

👉 Read my full CandiO phase breakdown here

Week 13: Out-processing and Commissioning

Nobody writes about this week; it deserves its own section.

The fleet training briefs happen here. The mentorship sessions. The graduation prep. Candidates are no longer running the squadron as they’ve passed the banner on to the next group to follow. You’re responsibility-free and, if lucky, get to enjoy some of Newport’s highlights while on liberty.

A strange and rapid deceleration in intensity from weeks prior, this victory lap of MWR pizza and planning your first purchase with your O1 pay might be the reason you joined the Navy after all.

For loved ones: during this time you’ll be in constant communication with your sailor as you coordinate and arrange the graduation ahead. By now you should have probably booked a place to stay and maybe even made reservations. Also, start preparing now for all the weird things your likely-unrecognizeable Ensign might say when you reunite. It’s all part of the un-brainwashing.

How to Prepare for Those 13 Weeks

Physically: you need to be able to run, do push-ups, and planks. It’s that simple to train for.

Mentally: you need to be able to eat horrible food, not sleep that great, and then not fall asleep during some of the most boring moments of your life but also be able to burst into action during some of the most exciting moments as well. Not easy to train for.

What to pack: The gear list matters more than most people expect. I put together a full packing list with everything I’d bring again and everything I’d leave at home.

👉 See the full OCS packing list (for everyone) and for females specifically

👉 See the physical preparedness guide and workouts to expect at OCS

For the Families and Partners Waiting at Home

This section is for you specifically.

Here’s the communication timeline:

• Check-in day: One 5-minute scripted call.

• Weeks 1–3 (Indoc): No calls. Letters only.

• Week 4 onward: 10-minute weekend slots. Sign-up sheet posted just days prior.

What you can do right now: write letters, build a care package, stay busy.

👉 See the OCS CandiO Box / care package guide

The Bottom Line

13 weeks sounds long. It goes fast.

An old saying you’ll often hear is “the days are long but the weeks are short” and it couldn’t be more true. The friends and memories last a lifetime and when my OCS buddies and I get together, we still cry from laughter reliving some of those days.

Grit through it, but don’t forget also to enjoy it.

I write everything for free in the hopes that it will inspire and educate on what it’s like to fly planes in the world’s greatest Navy and to spread the joys of aviation in general.

If you enjoyed this article, you can show your support by checking out my store on Etsy where I sell really cool aviation-themed streetwear clothing. It’s all designed by me, a real-life, very-average fighter pilot.

Uh, yeah the plane is trying to kill me today and the weather’s not helping either but thanks, Garmin!

Every pilot knows the feeling of a good helmet fire. The stress from flying comes in many forms: engine failures, instrument approaches to minimums at night, or the haunting scream of a Radar Warning Receiver letting you know the Red Air has a weapons lock and you’re probably “gonna see that one again”. In naval aviation, a nice way to say you just blew that flight.

As pilots, we pride ourselves on sounding cool on the radios. Flat, nonchalant, and unbothered with a heart rate of 190 bpm, knowing full well you just missed a crucial instruction from ATC and can expect a phone number to call when you land.

So, although we’ve mastered the ‘pilot voice’ on the outside, how does the body actually respond internally to the chaos of flying?

After wearing my Garmin watch for every single flight I’ve had in a Navy jet aircraft, I finally have an answer.

What Flying Does to Your Body

In my opinion, the three factors affecting stress levels while flying are: physiological (what’s happening to your body), cognitive (what’s happening to your mind), and environmental (what’s happening in the environment around you).

Physiological: think G forces, lower oxygen saturation, fatigue, etc.

Pilots constantly experience changes in G-forces to their bodies as they climb, descend, or dogfight. Humans on Earth experience 1 G. Highly trained fighter pilots can experience up to +9 Gs, but even mild maneuvering in a light sport aircraft can create real physiological discomfort.

Another thing that happens when climbing to higher altitudes is air gets thinner and, consequently, blood oxygen saturation decreases. Hypoxia is a physiological condition all pilots are educated about and which usually occurs when oxygen saturation levels fall below 90%. However, even a decrease below 95% can have a significant impact on cognitive performance. For my Marines needing their annual flight medical refresher: go high up in sky make pilot brain dumb, can go crashy crashy.

Cognitive: these would be the mental loads the pilot needs to juggle during routine as well as abnormal flight conditions. Communicating with ATC, communicating within the flight crew, monitoring engine temperatures, monitoring weather at the destination, the list goes on forever. Combine all these tasks at once and quickly the job of a pilot can become quite ‘task-saturating’. It’s just like walking and chewing bubblegum at the same time… but at 30,000 feet with people’s lives at stake. There’s an old saying along the lines of “the plane has a magic button in it and when you sit on it, you instantly lose 50% of your brain power.”

Some instructors would definitely argue that, for me, that number is probably much higher.

Environmental: heat, noise, weather, and daylight all have their vote as well when it comes to impacting performance.

Despite what you’ve heard about Kingsville, Texas, it’s not that similar to the Amalfi Coast. It actually gets incredibly hot in the summers—well above 100 F with humidity. Just walking to the jet your heart rate can already be in Zone 2. Combine this with some unforecasted weather rolling in and a fuel leak in the ol’ Goshawk and you’re on a bingo profile to Austin while your Garmin congratulates you on the ‘Productive’ Threshold session.

Individually, any number of these factors can have a major impact on whether you have a nice, uneventful flight or if “you’re gonna have to see that one again”. Combine all three and you can quickly go from helmet fire to helmet climate change.

How I’m Measuring In-Flight Stress

The Garmin Fenix tracks stress continuously using Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which is the variation in time between each heartbeat. Counterintuitively, a less regular heartbeat is actually a good sign. Higher HRV means your nervous system is relaxed and adaptable. Lower HRV means your body is under load, whether that’s physical, mental, or emotional.

Garmin converts this into a simple 0–100 stress score. Under 25 is resting. 26–50 is low stress. 51–75 is medium. Above 75 is high stress.

The Data

My First Flight in a Navy Jet

• Flight: first flight in the T-45, the most powerful aircraft I had flown yet

• Solo: no

• Preflight nervousness: extremely high

Analysis: Honestly, kind of what I expected. The first flight was a lot of show and tell. When I went through, you actually sat in the back while the instructor did the taxiing, comms, and basic admin stuff. You shoot an instrument approach under the hood as the hardest part of the flight but at that point in the syllabus, you’ve done over thirty sims with much harder approaches.

Okay… what about some early forms flying? First time being that close to another jet, lots of new comms, and flying out of Corpus Christi International versus home field.

Baby Forms Double

• Flight: two basic formation flights in one day

• Solo: yes

• Preflight nervousness: high

Analysis: That’s more like it. I remember this flight well: I was struggling in this stage with basic join mechanics and it took me a while to get to the solo (read: I saw some flights again). So these solo flights were highly anticipated and, even though I knew I was ready, flying two flights in one day in Texas heat is tough, and I really wanted to do well. The second spike of orange at night was definitely some alcohol-induced celebrating, which I guess Garmin calls stress. Nark.

That forms double was about a quarter through the syllabus and clearly I wasn’t yet showing any adaptation. A little more flight time should help calm me down and make me more comfortable in the jet. Not quite… Hello, Darkness, my old friend.

Night Forms Double-Header

• Flight: back-to-back night flights, two on the first night and one on the second

• Solo: no for the first two, yes for the second one

• Preflight nervousness: not for the first one, yes for every one afterwards

Analysis: Yeah this was terrifying. Terrible weather, no illumination, recovering as a section and not being able to see my lead? Helmet climate change 100%. What’s interesting about the data is that I never recovered from the first night of two flights into the second night of just a single sortie. Clearly there’s more to adapting to high-performance flight than just how your body reacts in the moment.

Cross-Country “Bro”-lo

• Flight: cross-country instrument flight with one of the SERGRADs (students who wing and then spend a year as T-45 IPs before continuing on to fly their fleet aircraft)

• Solo: no… bro-lo!

• Preflight nervousness: zero

Analysis: Overall stress score was lower but there was definitely still some orange chunks of high-stress data. The jury’s not out yet, but I suspect that while the body may never truly adapt to the adrenaline rush of a fighter jet, the stress you experience in pre- and post-flight and your body’s ability to recover is what you do get better at.

My Toughest Dogfight

• Flight: Basic Fighter Maneuvers with one of the hardest instructors in Kingsville

• Solo: NOPE—absolute hammer in the backseat

• Preflight nervousness: high

Analysis: Definitely need to recalibrate to this level of intensity. Working hard to maintain an offensive position in the fight, all while getting some… constructive feedback from the instructor behind me at high decibles? STRESS.

My Last T-45 Flight

• Flight: Fighter intercepts against one of my favorite instructors

• Solo: yes

• Preflight nervousness: high

Analysis: A flight I was definitely looking forward to but not in a nervous way. Regardless, all that excitement seems to take its toll on the body. It could have been any number of things: the high Gs, the desire not to kill myself or the instructor, bringing it in for the break way faster than my skill level to show off to my friends, etc… A high-stress day that definitely included Stress Beers later that evening.

This Garmin data provides a snapshot of the Navy Advanced Jet Training pipeline. The metrics suggest a clear correlation: as piloting proficiency increases, physiological resilience follows, allowing the body to sustain higher intensities for longer periods. However, the curriculum is intentionally relentless; the moment you achieve competence in one phase, you are thrust into a new, demanding learning curve.

But what happens when you introduce the T-45-adapted-human to a new jet that is twice as fast, can drop laser-guided bombs, and has almost 10 times more thrust?

Actually, the data surprised me.

My First Flights In An F-18

• Flight: first-ever flight in the F-18 and first solo a couple days later

• Solo: no for the first, yes for the second

• Preflight nervousness: low

Analysis: stress levels way lower. This could definitely be partly attributable to the weather in Virginia Beach in the fall being about 30 degrees cooler than when I had my last T-45 flight in Kingsville in the summer. I think it’s also true, however, that my body is getting better at adapting to stress in the jet and being familiar with the nerves of “firsts,” so the effect is no longer as dramatic. And ultimately, the F-18 is a fantastic jet, with lots of computing tech that makes the simple tasks of flying it much easier and safer than the unwieldy beast of the Goshawk.

Which makes sense. The Goshawk is a trainer that demands your attention. It forces you to respect spool-up lag and the art of manual trimming. But the F-18? The Rhino wants you to be a tactician. It makes the act of flying as seamless as possible, ensuring that when things get heavy, your brain power is spent on the mission, not the airframe.

The Verdict

The data won’t surprise any pilot reading this. We already knew the jet was trying to kill us; it’s nice to finally have the charts to prove it.

What it does confirm is something every instructor tries to tell you and you never fully believe until you feel it yourself: you never get less stressed, you just get better at managing it. The Goshawk built the foundation. The Rhino is where you find out what you built it for.

The T-45 data told a story of adaptation. The early F-18 data suggests that adaptation carried over. But the fleet is a different animal: deployments, night carrier operations, real-world threat environments. The stressors don’t get smaller, they get more consequential.

I’ll keep wearing the watch. At some point the data will stop being surprising and I’ll just accept the fact that I suck and no amount of autopilot will make my landings any better.

Let me know what you think about all this. Should pilots even wear fitness trackers?

What if in the future, the FAA made it mandatory for pilots to track their stress and recovery to determine if they’re safe to fly that day? 👀

Your Support Makes My Heart Race

Corny? Yes. True? …Maybe?

I write everything for free in the hopes that it will inspire and educate on what it’s like to fly planes in the world’s greatest Navy and to spread the joys of aviation in general.

If you enjoyed this article, you can show your support by checking out my store on Etsy where I sell really cool aviation-themed streetwear clothing. It’s all designed by me, a real-life, very-average fighter pilot.

Another way you can show your love for my writing and for your body ❤️? (Barf)

Get yourself a Garmin. I love mine and have been wearing some variation for years. They’re fantastic watches worn by tons of pilots and fitness enthusiasts. I’m not sponsored but I do make a small commission, at no cost to you, from any sales from links I direct to Amazon. Check them out, they’re great.

“Would you still do it, knowing everything it was going to cost you?”

I commissioned as a Navy officer in 2021 and earned my wings of gold in 2024. I’m still active duty, still in the machine, and still figuring out the answer to that question.

Here are five things I would tell myself before I started, and how my path has differed from the brochure at the recruiter’s office.

Subscribe now

Eight Years is Longer Than You Think

Perception: Eight. That’s the number you have in your head and you’re going to plan your future to the day.

The recruiter told you that eight years from when you wing, once complete with all your flight training, your clock will start. Flight school takes about two years, so all in, if you really hate it, you’re only committed to about ten years in the Navy. By then you’ll be 32, ready for a family, and have all the hours you need to go to the airlines. What’s so bad about that?

Reality: That eight will actually look a lot more like twelve when it’s all said and done.

You’ll spend three months to a year waiting to start NIFE, another three months to a year waiting to start Primary, and finally another (wait for it…) three months to a year to start Advanced!

That’s an additional two years you can expect to have added to the training pipeline due to maintenance, personnel planning, and other issues.

And remember the Pers-43 debacle? TLDR: In an effort to increase retention, the Navy is now forcing all aviators to fulfill a second two-year sea tour.

Add the two unforeseen years from training delays to the mandatory two years spent at sea at the end of your timeline and now you see how an eighth-year sales pitch quickly turned into a twelve-year reality.

Your Time Belongs to the Navy

Perception: Deployments will be the most restrictive time of your career. When you’re home, you’ll live a normal work-life balance.

Deployments will be tough, as they simultaneously test you professionally at sea and personally in your relationships back home. During those times, you’ll expect to miss birthdays, holidays, and some special moments. Being in the military and serving your country is important to you, and this is a price you’ve decided is worth paying.

When not deployed, won’t you be sleeping in your own bed every night with a relatively normal schedule comprised of mostly training flights and typical “officer” desk work?

Reality: If you’re signing up to be a military aviator, you’re signing up to schedule your life one day at a time, twenty-four hours in advance.

Whether it’s been in training in the T-6, T-45, or in the fleet in the F-18, my life has been married to the ebbs and flows of the flight schedule. I’ve once had a random Wednesday off, deciding to go for a mini-vacation Tuesday evening, just to drive back at 9 pm because I was put on for a last-minute hop in the morning.

I’ve missed countless weddings, bachelor parties, and birthdays all while being right here in the USA during peacetime.

Just because you’re not on deployment doesn’t mean you're always home. Your life belongs to Uncle Sam, and he can dictate when it’s convenient for you to get married, have a child, or go on vacation for more than a long weekend.

What You End Up Flying Is A Lottery

Perception: The Navy is a meritocracy. Starting off in flight school, you’ll learn that your future is entirely based on 1s and 0s and the objectivity of a performance-based culture. Every flight will be graded, and every instructor will be equally trained on how to assign those grades based on flight performance.

“The only way ensure you get what you want is to be first in your class”.

Except… not always?

Reality: Bias exists even in the Navy. Instructors can grade unfairly (both positively and negatively). Students with high NSS scores worthy of jets get helicopters. You don’t always get what you want. Or deserve.

Don’t get me wrong: for the majority of cases, the Navy gets it right. Students who work hard, learn from their mistakes, and put in the work usually get what they want. The Navy flight school grading structure has been around for ages, and, although it’s far from perfect, it probably is the best way to rank-and-stack the hundreds of students that go through the pipeline every year.

The reason I used, admittedly, a click-baity title is that although you want the reassurance that if you work hard and do well, you’ll reap the reward.

That’s unfortunately not always the case.

There will be weeks when there are no jet slots available.

I was far from a great Primary student. I was probably barely a good one. But in the Navy, timing is everything. And, looking back, was I ever great at that.

When I finished Primary back in 2022, I had no idea how lucky I actually was. If I had selected just one month later, even my 'second choice' wouldn't have been an option—I wouldn't have had a choice at all. I would have been handed whatever the Navy needed that week.

In late 2022, the jet pipeline stalled. Between the T-45 engine issues and a massive backlog of students, jet slots dried up for nearly a year. It didn't matter how well you flew; if you were up for selection during that window, you didn't get jets.

This can be crushing for kids who set their lifelong dream on becoming a fighter pilot. But it’s the reality. If you want predictability, dream more reasonably and become an actuary.

It Kind of IS About the Money

Perception: The salary of an officer in the military can be viewed as pretty competitive, especially when you look at the tax benefits from BAH, BAS or combat zone pay. On top of that, all your flight training and flight hours are paid for and, well, full afterburner off the bow of a carrier? Let me guess: you’re probably going to say you’d do that for free, right?

You’re not wrong. And if you’re joining the military for the money, you should reevaluate your priorities. You will not get rich from a career in the Navy. You can, however, do very well for yourself, live a life full of amazing experiences, comfortably raise a family, and retire or move on to do any number of things afterwards with the skills and knowledge you’ll gain.

But at times you will definitely think to yourself, “they don’t pay me enough for this…”

Reality: No amount of money will make you happy. But in the military, you are likely to experience at least once a moment of… how do I say it… not giving a fuck?

Let me be clear: serving in the military is an honor, and the overwhelming majority of my days I wouldn’t trade for a day at the cubicle.

But in this business, everyone gets paid according to their rank/seniority and not their competence. The top dog who gets in early every day makes the same as the guy who was twenty minutes late relieving you from duty, smelling like too many video games and not owning a watch. There are no year-end bonuses in the military. In fact, it’s a common trope that the best, most effective workers are actually rewarded with… even more work.

You also aren’t compensated for: deployment extensions, working overtime/nights/weekends, or toilets not working on the latest and greatest aircraft carrier.

You’ll Never “Make It”

Perception: Once you get through flight school and earn your wings of gold, your life will be awesome as a full-on pilot, flying fighters for the world’s finest Navy.

A wise CO once told me:

"Don't continuously look for how good life will be 'if I just.' If I just finish Primary and get jets. If I just earn my wings of gold. If I just finish the FRS and get to the fleet."

There’s no doubt about it: flying an F-18 with gold wings on your chest on a beautiful, sunny day is an incredible feeling.

But that CO was right. It’s probably true for life, and not just my very specific niche of naval aviation, but life never gets better than right now. So enjoy the ride.

Reality: In naval aviation, you’ll be expected to continuously grow and improve. The feeling that you “made it” will be few and far between, if ever.

In Primary, you’ll go from being the top student in the Contacts Phase one week to the struggling beginner of the Formation Phase the next. Then, the moment you think you’ve mastered the unruly Goshawk, you’ll transition to a combat jet that nearly flies itself—demanding, instead, an unprecedented level of weapons systems management and tactical proficiency. Finally, once you reach the fleet, you’ll progress from combat wingman to section lead, and eventually to division lead, responsible for three other aircraft.

Congratulations. After all that, you’re finally eligible to attend Top Gun, Test Pilot School, or teach these impossible tasks to the next generation.

I won’t even start on how good you have to become just to graduate bottom of your class at Top Gun.

So, Would I Do It Again?

One-hundred percent.

The pipeline is brutal, the timeline is longer than they tell you, and there will be days where the math doesn’t add up no matter how you run it. But there will also be a morning, somewhere over the water, in a jet that costs more than every house on your street, doing something that less than a fraction of a percent of people on earth will ever do, where none of that matters.

You’re 22. You want the hard thing, go get it. Just read the fine print first.

Or don’t, ignorance is bliss.

On January 29 of 2025, a US Army Blackhawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet, claiming the lives of all 67 people involved.

A lot has happened since that day. Mourning, investigating, and even some celebrating have all taken their turns as we continue to learn what exactly went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.

Key Takeaways:

• What exactly caused the mid-air over the Potomac

• The response to prevent future accidents

• Legislation to create a safer future

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The Safety Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) just recently concluded and published a year-long investigation into the mid-air collision over the Potomac. The key findings of what led to the crash were as follows:

1. Contributing Factor: Helicopter Route 4 was a low-level training route, which often created near-misses with other commercial aircraft arriving into DCA.

   Corrective Action: This route was officially closed in March of 2025.

2. Contributing Factor: A failure of the “See and Avoid” doctrine, with the pilots incorrectly assuming they had visual contact with the regional jet on final. The Army crew requested visual separation, which the FAA, in some people’s opinion, was wrongfully granted, given the congested airspace.

   Corrective Action: Recommendation for ADS-B In requirements and additional ATC staffing.

3. Contributing Factor: Altimeter issues with the Blackhawk helicopter, showing altitude deviations of nearly 100 feet.

   Corrective Action: The US Army was directed to further instruct its pilots on the limitations of the Blackhawk’s altitude equipment and implement a flight data monitoring program. Whatever that means…

My Thoughts

Ignoring the fact that, yeah, nobody asked…

1. Good. Helicopter Route 4 is incredibly stupid and is unequivocally not worth the risk. It had a strong history of near-miss reports and closing this was long overdue.

2. This is just an unfortunate nature of the business. It’s well known that night vision goggles have their share of potentially dangerous pitfalls. One of those pitfalls is a lack of depth perception and the potential for incorrectly attributing a brighter light under goggles as an aircraft that’s closer to you.

3. The FAA set a 200-foot ceiling on HR4, with the intent to provide at least 75 feet of separation with aircraft on final for DCA. Razor thin? Absolutely. Regardless, it’s inexcusable to be above, or frankly, anywhere near that 200-foot upper limit. The NTSB chalked this up to known altimeter issues with the Blackhawk but for whatever reason the Army pilots weren’t flying RADALT* is beyond me and so incomprehensibly stupid. Keep in mind this is me, speaking as a fighter pilot who knows nothing about rotary aviation.

*For those wondering what the big deal is, RADALT stands for Radar Altimeter. It uses a radar to produce highly accurate altitude readings. In contrast, the barometric altimeter (what the Blackhawk pilots were flying off of) utilizes pressure readings and a calibration number given from ATC, which can change several times during a flight.

The ROTOR Act

Nothing I love more than a cringey acronym. And ROTOR definitely leaves me ROTFL-ing.

The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act was written in an attempt to ensure that what happened in DC in 2025 would never recur.

The bill, which failed to pass the House of Representatives yesterday, February 24, had the following provisions:

• Mandatory ADS-B In Integration: All aircraft currently required to broadcast their location (ADS-B Out) would also be mandated to install integrated ADS-B In technology, providing clearer traffic awareness to pilots.

• Repeal of Military Loopholes: The act would strip away “sensitive government mission” exemptions that previously allowed military helicopters to fly through congested civilian airspace without broadcasting their position.

• Universal Safety Standards: It establishes a “single set of rules” for all civilian and military aircraft operating in high-density Class B and C airspaces, ensuring everyone from private pilots to Army crews uses the same tracking technology.

• Airspace Safety Audits: The FAA would be required to conduct immediate, comprehensive safety reviews of all major U.S. airports with “mixed traffic” to identify and fix dangerous intersections between helicopter routes and commercial flight paths.

Opponents of the bill claim that forcing military aircraft to always be broadcasting their location poses a security risk and that the ROTOR Act only covers a fraction of the NTSB recommendations, which could be better served via the ALERT Act.

Not nearly as fun, the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act is intended to be a more comprehensive solution. Critics of this bill claim it’s watered down and could delay real changes for years.

What are your thoughts? With aviation already being one of the safest industries across the globe, was this just a freak accident or does real change need to come in the form of the ROTOR or ALERT Act?

Carrier Strike Group 12, headed by the mighty USS Ford, is full steam ahead toward—correction… the USS Ford, CVN-78, is nuking toward Iran.

Let me reword that, given these tense times: the USS Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is hastily heading back to 6th Fleet on its way to 5th. Because apparently, 'nuking' is an engineering term that requires a much better PR and potentially legal department.

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A Brief History

On February 12th, the poor sailors of CSG-12, who have already been deployed for eight months, heard news that they would be leaving the Caribbean and heading back across the Atlantic to Iran. They will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and the rest of CSG-3 already out there.

For those keeping score at home, the Ford has had quite a busy deployment already:

June 24, 2025: Departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia

July – September 2025: Conducted operations in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea

Late September 2025: Transited into the Mediterranean Sea

October 2025: Diverted from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean Sea

January 2026: Casually overthrew a dictator in Venezeula

February 12 2026: Ordered to go back to the Middle East

Today: Transiting the Strait of Gibraltar

Navy deployments may rhyme, but they never repeat. Many sailors can tell you about their interesting/awful/younameit deployment at sea but for this already-tested crew, if they remain deployed until April they’ll break the record for longest carrier deployment of 295 days.

A depressing record to steal, ironically, from the Lincoln back in January 2020.

What Now?

Earlier this year, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, the Iranian regime murdered thousands of its citizens for protesting in the streets. Additionally, there has been a recent push to negotiate curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The idea behind sending the Ford to sit alongside the Lincoln is send a message of “Peace Through Strength”, projecting military might to pressure the regime into meeting diplomatic demands.

Let’s hope it’s a quick resolution and the crew of CSG-12 will be heading back to homeport very soon.

Side note: interestingly, when doing research for this article, Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT both were unaware of the Iranian protestors who were murdered earlier this year. Yet could provide up-to-the-day information on other world news.

How You Can Help

If you’d like to show your support for the men and women stationed on the Ford and beyond, you can donate to the USO. Already, US Navy ships have started implementing onboard USO Centers for sailors to relax or play games and just feel a bit more “at home”.

Other resources to help:

• Blue Star Families

• Operation Gratitude

• Soldiers’ Angels

• The Wingman Foundation

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A Problematic Past

The F-35 has, to put it nicely, been having a rough go of it. Ironically, in 2001, it was originally sold to taxpayers as a “low-cost” replacement for the American jet fleet.

Fast-forward twenty-five years, and the cost per jet has doubled to $100 million each, with the lifetime sustainability budget ballooning from $1.1 to $2.1 trillion.

Procurement issues aside, the jet itself has suffered numerous PR flops in the last few years, including:

2025: an F-35A with a software glitch prefered to fly at 200 knots in “Ground Mode”, ignoring all pilot input and instead opting for violent, unrecoverable osicllations. After an airborne conference call with the engineers, this ended in ejection with the pilot walking away safely.

2023: an F-35B lost all displays due to a rainstorm (?) causing the pilot to eject. If this weren’t bad enough, the military couldn’t locate the jet due to its stealthiness. Actually, I guess that’s a good thing? Except when you publicly ask the locals to help locate it.

2022: an F-35B ejected during a vertical landing test in Texas due to a fuel tube failure caused by harmonic resonance.

What’s crazy is that this is just the most recent three. You can go down a rabbit hole of program failures since inception.

What Should Now Be on Your Radar

As if the above wasn’t bad enough, the latest issue and “solution” in the Lightning II program is delivering F-35 fighters without radars.

Starting in 2025, the newest lot of F-35s was planned to be delivered with the new APG-85, but due to delays, they don’t actually have the 85s available to be installed.

No problem, just deliver them with the old APG-81 radar (which is already being used in the fleet) and then swap them out later, right?

Wrong.

The newer 85 radar uses a completely different mounting system, making it impossible to just switch out radars as they are manufactured.

The solution? Ship the jet with no radar in the nose, but fill the space where it would be with “ballast” to maintain flight characteristics.

Translate to English: swithcy switchy $5 million radar with metal hunk of shit.

“Okay, but isn’t a radar like super important in a modern fighter jet? Therefore, these jets can’t actually be used operationally, right?”

Correct! And also incorrect!

The F-35 is capable of using onboard data from a wingman with functional systems so the current workaround is sharing that data using the F-35’s advanced communication system.

I expect that if there are ever any issues supplying engines for the modern fighter, the solution will be to connect it to a wingman via towing cable, since it still flies fine as a glider.

What are your thoughts? Will the Joint Strike Fighter program be worth it in the end, or will Lockheed Martin CEO, James Taiclet, be the richest retiree of all time?

A Team America Effort

Both the Navy and Air Force will participate in this flyover, celebrating 250 years of America this July. It will be a first for this type of multi-service cooperation at a Super Bowl and both services are bringing their A-game, flying the world’s most high-tech military jets.

5 Different Squadrons

• VFA-2 “Bounty Hunters” will be flying the F/A-18F

• VFA-192 “World Famous Golden Dragons” will be flying the F/A-18E

• VFA-97 “Warhawks” will be flying the F-35C

• 28th Bomb Wing will be flying the B-1B

• 144th Fighter Wing will be flying the F-15C

It’s Not a “Waste” of Taxpayer Dollars

Although the bill for a flyover consisting of eight of the world’s most advanced aircraft is hefty, it’s not a waste. Estimated at well over $100,000, this price tag provides valuable training to the pilots and crew in a variety of ways, from mission planning to real-time, time-on-target coordination.

Not to mention all the newly inspired recruits who sign up the next day after a Budweiser-inspired bet with their buddy.

No-Fly Zone

If you want to get as close as possible to some of these jets in the flyover, all you have to do is fly into the TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction). Although I strongly suggest against it.

A TFR is an official notice to all pilots saying “do not get anywhere near this airspace” or risk getting intercepted by a military fighter jet and probably losing your license (at minimum).

They Always Bring Backup

A high-visibility event like the Super Bowl flyover demands meticulous contingency planning, down to the smallest detail. One critical piece of that plan is the inclusion of one or more spare aircraft, fully briefed and often already loitering airborne.

Flyovers are single-pass, zero-redo events timed precisely to the national anthem, leaving no margin for mechanical issues, radio glitches, or weather deviations. If any aircraft shows even a minor anomaly, it will drop out early and a spare can seamlessly slide into the formation.

These backup pilots rehearse the exact formation slot and timing as if they expect to fly it. To the crowd, the formation looks effortless but behind the scenes it’s a carefully choreographed operation designed to absorb failure without anyone ever noticing.

It’s just another ordinary day. You were the last to board and nearly missed your flight because you stayed for one too many at the airport lounge.

After a brief standoff in which you explained that a window for an aisle is mathematically offensive, you made the entire row get up so you could get to the seat you paid good money for.

After a final “if you wanted a window seat, you should either pay for it or be Silver status member like me” under your breath to 14B, you can finally relax.

Unlike 14B, you could never again imagine life without the status benefits from that airline credit card free trial.

Must not… forget… to cancel… you think to yourself as the beer sleepiness starts to take over on your twenty-seven-minute flight to Atlanta.

“IS THERE A PILOT ONBOARD?!”

You wake up in a state of panic. What did you just hear over the PA?

The flight attendant keys the mic again:

“The pilots have become incapacitated; we need someone to land this bitch.”

Hm, a slightly unprofessional way to ask. Regardless, this is probably not the time for customs and courtesies if the pilots truly are incapacitated and we need someone to land this plane.

Now’s your time.

14B looks panicked. Don’t worry, buddy, you’re in good hands—I’ve watched hundreds of plane videos on YouTube. You bury the urge to relay your latest watch, “5 Facts About the F-14 Tomcat (Number 4 Will Blow Your Mind)” and make your way to the flight deck.

This is the day you’ve been waiting for.

Could an Average Joe Land a Plane?

The short answer? Definitely Probably not.

Okay, it’s possible. And, actually, it has been done on numerous occasions where someone with little or no flying experience has landed a plane.

The three most recent that I could find:

In 2022, a Florida man landed a Cessna after his pilot became incapacitated.

In 2019, a student pilot with just one hour of instruction gets talked on to land.

In 2013, John Wildey lands a Cessna without his instructor in England.

The common theme here is that in almost every case it was a light aircraft, such as a Cessna 172, needing to be landed. Not a one-hundred-thousand-pound B737 carrying two-hundred souls.

A Cessna has fixed landing gear (it’s always down), one engine (easier to control), and about six instruments to monitor for performance.

The Boeing 737, on the other hand, has retractable landing gear, two engines, and a glass panel of complex numbers monitoring complex systems.

Obeying Murphy’s Law: on a plane losing its pilots, losing an engine and its hydraulic system is probably soon to follow. Even someone with their pilot’s license and hundreds of hours in a recreational aircraft like a Cessna 172 wouldn’t stand a chance in this scenario.

That being said, part of the beauty of modern aviation is how safe it is. From strict cockpit redundancies to the 'different meals' rule (where pilots never eat the same food to avoid simultaneous food poisoning), the system is designed so that a volunteer never has to step up. And to this day, never have they had to.

So, could an everyday Average Joe land a Cessna on a nice day in a pinch? Yeah. Apparently, it's been done a decent amount, too.

But could they land one of the most complex flying machines ever built by man, with the lives of hundreds also resting on their shoulders? Hell no.

Could a Fighter Pilot Land a B737?

Well, seeing as fighter pilots are the greatest pilots ever to exist, and we can do anything and everything in the air with just one pilot, and also we’re handsome and daring and cunning and humble, I don’t see why not?

Would be the answer I bet you’d get if you went to any given fighter squadron ready room.

Many differences remain between a fighter jet and a commercial airliner. However, someone trained in doing everything on their own (communicating with ATC, navigating, landing, and handling emergencies) in a similarly complex, albeit smaller aircraft, would certainly have the best odds.

And of all the fighter pilots in the world, who would fare best temping in a Boeing airliner? You guessed it: a US Navy F/A-18 pilot. Or an F/A-18 pilot from any country, to be honest.

The reason? In this emergency scenario, every advantage matters. The F/A-18 and the 737 are both built by Boeing, sharing a similar design philosophy, system logic, and controls familiarity.

To be clear, it would still be a long shot. Being a competent pilot in any aircraft takes hours of practice to learn the fine details and land safely.

So, if I were ever on board a Boeing 737 that needed someone to land us in an emergency, I’d definitely look to 14B. They may have been a peasant sitting in the middle seat, but as it turns out, also a Top Gun graduate. The Navy’s finest.

Thankfully, you chickened out on your way to the flight deck and pretended like you were just getting up to use the bathroom.

14B quietly took the reins and, with a little help from the Chief Pilot, got everyone safely back on the ground.

Unfortunately, not to Atlanta as this emergency required the plane to land as soon as possible.

This level inconveneince to a Silver status member? Unbelievable. The airline will surely be hearing from you.

If you enjoyed this read, consider visiting the shop to show your support. We make really cool shirts and other apparel by—and for—aviation enthusiasts.

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Zeb Powell

Hands down, my favorite snowboarder right now. Zeb is known for his insane steez and unconventional riding. In 2020, he won a gold medal at the X Games in the Knuckle Huck competition—an event where riders like Zeb are really able to show off their creativity versus pure big air events.

If you need something to get you through the doldrums of January until the Winter Olympics get here next month, check out some of my favorite videos of him.

Oracle Red Bull Racing’s New Car

Red Bull unveiled their new car for the 2026 season in the most Red Bull way ever: with a stunt plane… that apparently has no G limits?

See No Drone, Hear No Drone, Speak No Drone

The RQ-170 Sentinel recently came across my desk (and by that I mean I saw it on Reddit) due to its alleged involvement in Venezuela, and I have to say, I’m interested. It’s a stealth drone used for aerial reconnaissance and one of the first used operationally. Although the United States government has barely acknowledged its existence, its use as a surveillance drone in the Bin Laden raid of 2011 and other missions in the Middle East have been confirmed.

Newest Additions to the Shop

I’ve been slowly adding to the Will Paige Designs shop and these are my latest two designs: F22 Smiley Face Tee and Hoodie. I think they turned out really cool, and I really hope you like them. Check them out if you’re interested!

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In this Flyby:

• 150+ aircraft launched from 20 different land and sea bases executing one mission

• Apple TV’s “Hijack” with Idris Elba is incredible

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Operation Absolute Resolve

On January 3, 2026, the US military coordinated over 150 aircraft launching from all over the Western Hemisphere to facilitate strikes, electronic warfare, and troop transport in Venezuela.

The goal? To capture Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Simple… Once you figure out the logistics of organizing hundreds of sailors, soldiers, and airmen, along with hundreds of millions in military equipment.

Since the strike was announced, I was particularly interested in the specifics of which aircraft were utilized. Naval aviation is a surprisingly small community, so it’s no shock that I know many of the pilots currently attached to the Ford’s CAG-8, which has been in the Caribbean for a couple of months now.

It took some time for the full details to emerge, and it’s safe to say: Operation Absolute Resolve was a master class in military aviation planning and execution.

All of the air assets utilized:

1. Rotary Wing (The 160th SOAR):

   1. MH-60M Black Hawks

   2. MH-47G Chinooks

2. SEAD and Escort:

   1. F-22 Raptors

   2. F-35 Lightning IIs

   3. F/A-18 Super Hornets

   4. EA-18G Growlers

   5. E-2D Hawkeyes

   6. B-1B Lancer

3. Drones:

   1. RQ-170 Sentinel

   2. MQ-9 Reaper

This level of execution is obviously impressive and must have taken months of planning. I just fly planes and don’t pretend to know anything about world politics, no matter how many times I’m asked by crazy uncles at holiday parties.

Therefore, I’m clearly not qualified to give any personal opinions on this operation other than this one little bit of insight: I’ve once waited on weather for hours after briefing the flight, just to walk on a jet two hours late due to maintenance, just to have my lead’s jet go down while taxiing, just to have them hop into a spare, just to lose our airspace due to taking too long, just to takeoff for a 20-minute instrument currency hop.

To see what the US military is truly capable of, when I’ve also seen the other side of the spectrum, is absolutely astounding.

But don’t take my word for it! This guy joined the US military like three whole months ago and is now offering his deep intel on Reddit. For free! What an amazing resource we have in the internet.

Apple TV’s Hijack

Anytime planes are on TV, I’m interested. Mix in a star from my favorite show ever (“The Office”), and it’s probably binge-worthy.

In Hijack, Idris Elba plays a smooth operator tasked with negotiating with the hijackers. An easy hero to get behind, Elba does everything except land the plane. Very good series.

Could You Land a Plane?

Speaking of landing planes in emergency situations, I found this mini-series by this YouTuber, Pilot Pete, pretty fun. I think it’s safe to say the answer, contrary to most of our fantasies, is no.

In this Flyby:

• Red Bull’s cycling team gets an aircraft airborne

• ForeFlight vs. Garmin Pilot vs the rest

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Red Bull (–BORA–hansgrohe) Gives You Wings

Airplanes and bicycles—maybe my two favorite things.

Strapped together on a sled like the huskies in Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Snow Dogs, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe made history by towing an aircraft into flight via human horsepower.

Averaging over 650 watts for more than 90 seconds provided the pilot with enough airspeed to successfully get airborne.

650 watts x 9 cyclists = 5,850 watts—or roughly the equivalent of an 8-horsepower engine commonly found in outboard motors.

Which is insane… but for context, a Mercedes Formula 1 engine produces almost 1,000 horsepower.

As I write this, I’m realizing just how impressive the Industrial Revolution really was. I’ll add that to my list of old man fascinations right behind World War II and the Roman Empire.

I’m Officially a Proud ForeFlight Subscriber

I’ve been using Foreflight since Primary, and every squadron since then has provided me with a free Military Flight Bag subscription—until now. For whatever dumb reason my current squadron doesn’t offer it, which has made life way more difficult than it has needed to be.

For those who aren’t familiar, ForeFlight is an all-in-one flight planning app that provides weather, NOTAMs, routes, waypoints, and more. It’s almost a necessity in today’s modern aviation. Especially if, like me, you have the dead reckoning skills of Helen Keller.

So, after lots of deliberation I finally just bit the bullet and subscribed. I tried the other main competitor, Garmin Pilot, and a free alternative, FltPlan Go, but neither quite fit the bill. I’m a creature of habit so Foreflight is familiar to me. As I’m getting into more GA flying, I didn’t want to have to relearn a new app just to do some basic flying. That Cessna deserves 100% of my below-average-pilot-focus.

I’ve always loved aviation and fighter jet gear, but let’s be honest… most of it is so nerdy and uncool. That’s what I’m hoping to change.

As of today, there are three unique designs live in the store. Clean, modern, and made for people who love aviation and good design. And this is just the start.

So, if you’re a fan of cool shirts, aviation, or my high school football coach: please check out the store at www.willpaige.com.

F-16 Pizza Delivery!

Rhino Drivers LLC

El Centro Haze

-Will!

And all I can say is: you’re wrong. I don’t know much about aviation (no instructor I’ve ever flown with would disagree there), but I do know that the F/A-18 Super Hornet is the greatest fighter jet I’ve ever piloted. It is, in fact, the only one I’ve ever piloted, but this is my blog so: 3, 2, 1… blast off!

1. Ability to Give Gas

Aha! Aerial refueling. Bet you didn’t see that one coming. Don’t worry, this post will degrade in credibility as I go on, but I’m starting off strong with this one.

A lot of jets can receive, but the F-18 Super Hornet is the only jet in the entire American military capable of giving gas to other jets while airborne.

Typically, how it works is the Super Hornet will be configured as a “Five Wet”. That means it will have five external tanks (one being an ARS pod), giving it the ability to distribute around 15,000 pounds of fuel to its closest friends.

2. Horizontal Stabs

Maybe not what you’d expect to come in at the number two spot, but hear me out. The Super Hornet’s horizontal stabs are almost as big as the entire wing of the A-4 Skyhawk.

This is part of what makes the 18 such a ferocious fighter in two-circle combat. The horizontal stabs make for an incredibly stable platform at high angles-of-attack, allowing for impressive nose authority even at uncomfortably low speeds.

3. A Mind-Blowing FCS

That stands for Flight Control System, by the way, and if you’re dying to know why this seemingly boring topic is at number four, then let me explain.

The FCS, which the legendary horizontal stabs from #2 are a part of, is comprised of the leading and trailing edge flaps, ailerons, rudders, vertical and horizontal stabs, spoilers, and two redundant flight control computers.

The reason this system blows me away is that you can have a triple circuit hydraulic failure (losing 3/4 of the hydraulic system) and still land. You can lose both the left and right ailerons and still turn flawlessly. I’ve even had a sim instructor tell me you could potentially still take off if you lost both your rudders on takeoff. I’ll take his word on that one.

4. The Gun

I mean… can you truly call yourself a fighter jet if you don’t have the foundation of air-to-air combat? I’m talking about the 20mm M61A2 rotary cannon, baby.

6,000 rounds per minute pouring out of the nose spells trouble for anyone unlucky enough to find themselves in a visual head-to-head matchup with the Super.

5. Texting Your Friends

Although not unique to the Super Hornet, it is still part of the MIDS (Multifunctional Information Distribution System) hardware we have onboard. And with that comes a fun way to talk to your friends in-flight without anyone knowing: Free Text!

Using the UFCD (Up-Front Control Display), you can go back to the early 2000s and send text messages to your wingman in a semi-covert way. This has definitely never gone wrong!

6. Room for Two

Forget texting your friends, just bring them with you! Another huge pro for the Super Hornet is its dual-occupancy ergonomic module features tandem longitudinal habitation units configured for pilot and weapons systems officer (WSO) operations—AKA a back seat!

Long flights, difficult missions, emotional breakdowns? All better with someone in your cockpit with you.

7. Weapon Station Availability

The F/A-18 boasts enough space to externally mount tons of ordnance or fuel tanks.

Eleven different stations means the Super Hornet can carry the greatest number of weapons or tanks—more than anything else in the American inventory.

Take that 5th gen!

8. 3-in-1

Once upon a time, the airwing’s fixed wing jet department consisted of a different jet for each role. An F-14 for air-to-air intercepts, an A-6 for air-to-ground dominance, and an S-3 to hunt subs.

The F and A in F/A-18 means… yeah, it can do it all.

The 18 can be equipped with AIM-9Xs and AIM-120s for air-to-air, laser guided and GPS guided missiles for air-to-ground, AGM-84s for anti-ship, and many other interesting weapons combinations.

It truly is a jack of all trades.

9. Peter! We’ve Got a Squirter!

Just like I Love You Man is one of the best movies of all time, it’s clear the 18 is one of the best jets. Still don’t believe me?

The F/A-18 is such an alpha that it actually marks its territory wherever it goes. Known for leaking lots of different liquids, it’s not uncommon to walk to your plane and see a yellow tub underneath with a shocking amount of fuel leaking out into it.

I remember once asking a plane captain if there was something we could do about it and his response was “it’ll go away once you start up”. I think what he meant was I will go away after you start up and then it’s no longer my problem.

10. Certified Yogi

Unlike you with your New Year’s resolution to go to yoga more, the Super Hornet actually does. This marvelous machine is able to transform her wingspan from over 44 feet to just over 30 with the simple flip of a switch.

That’s right! This flexible fighter has folding wings, a necessary feat of engineering to accommodate the tight spaces often encountered on the flight deck of a carrier.

Just don’t try this at home…

What’s your favorite plane of all time, and what makes it so great to you!? Let me know in the comments below ⬇️

If you’ve followed my writing for long or have specifically found this site due to some of the stuff I’ve written on physical fitness and the Navy, then you’d have a fairly good idea that I’ve been trying to hack my PRT score before even going to OCS.

Unfortunately, two things have made it actually quite difficult to successfully “Dave Asprey” my way into an Outstanding High:

1. Beer

2. Despising running

For the last five years, I’ve consistently run more than at any other time in my life. And what do I have to show for it? Complete stagnation.

Measured by my Garmin watch, my VO2 Max has basically stayed the same at 51 ml/kg/min. Additionally, other than OCS (where running was just about the most fun you could have), the fastest I’ve been able to run my 1.5-mile PRT in was a grueling 9 minutes and 50 seconds. AKA just barely under a 7-minute mile.

And that’s averaging 15-20 miles a week of running. Sorry, but for a guy who hates running, that much running for that little payoff was simply defeating. This is Liam-Lawson-getting-demoted-after-2-races level of defeat.

Maybe it was time to give up on my dream of decorating my fridge with a photo of me and my skipper congratulating me for running slightly faster than an average male my age.

No. Not today. I finally broke the Outstanding Medium barrier, and, dare I say… with ease?

I’ll admit it: the greatest motivation was that I was late for a flight and Ops didn’t care if I could shower before the brief, so that may have upped my pace slightly. But I was genuinely shocked when I passed the halfway marker and saw that a mere 4 minutes and 40 seconds had gone by. This was by far the easiest PRT I had run in my career and I finished with my best time since prison—uh, I mean OCS. But how?

As the great, often quoted, very respected Julius Comroe Jr. (whom I’d never heard of before searching for this quote) once said:

My farmer’s daughter? Zwift.

I suppose more like a farmer’s call girl since I do pay her every month and there’s no love there; however, I am left covered in sweat after every session.

Which I have written about before and you may be sick of hearing about, but to me, it’s been an incredibly useful discovery.

Not just Zwift, but cycling in general.

Zwift is a fantastic way to get an amazing cardiovascular workout, particularly when trying to work VO2 Max sprint intervals, but nothing will put a smile on your face like going out on a two-hour Zone 2 ride in the sunshine and fresh air.

The reason I think Zwifting and cycling have made such an incredible impact on my cardiovascular condition? Because I enjoy doing it. Yeah, weird.

But as Naval says:

Which makes total sense. Every single time I ride my bike I enjoy it and I get a great workout in without knowing it. Same with Zwift: even though it’s indoors and on a trainer, its gamification and social aspect make it so compelling to push through and get the extra burn.

Which is why I think my next PRT is going to be even faster and, most importantly, easier. It trains your legs, it trains your lungs, and it’s fun.

EDIT: I wanted to write this article because I was just so shocked at how much fitter I’ve gotten with cycling. However, after writing it, I did discover Zwift has a referral program. I’m not sponsored (I make myself laugh every time I write these words, because… DUH it’s still just your mother and your English teacher from high school who reads this site) but if you are interested in trying Zwift, you can do so for a month for free with this referral link.

To close, here’s a photo of MVDP because he’s got to be the coolest guy in cycling right now.

Disclosure: some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. I will never recommend anything that wasn’t strongly recommended by readers or that I didn’t personally use.

From Vietnam-era jet pilots to YouTubers showcasing the freedom of bush planes, these stories—yes, even these content creators (🤮 I can’t believe I’m using that phrase)—represent everything I find beautiful about flying.

Below are nine amazing pilots who either convinced me to pursue naval aviation or just planted a seed of appreciation for general aviation.

1. The Wright Brothers

The first in flight, an obvious number one pick. Midwesterners moving to the Outer Banks to pursue their dream and tackle gravity. Living in Virginia Beach has allowed me to visit the site where it happened a couple of times and it’s so cool to imagine: Navy fighter jets flying over the same sand dunes where it all started over one hundred years later.

2. Charlie Plumb

A Vietnam F-14 Phantom II pilot who managed to survive six years in the Hanoi Hilton in North Vietnam in the 1960s. Hearing his story on The Jocko Podcast inspired something in me to join the badasses that comprised Naval Aviation.

3. Trent Palmer

Trent is a YouTuber who showcases all the beauty of what flying can bring. I knew becoming a pilot through the Navy would be a great job in its own right, but also once I got my military wings I could apply for a civilian license and one day do things like this. I was hooked.

4. Sully

I feel like I beat the EP Horse to death sometimes on here but… yeah, they’ve made movies about pilot aces but when have they ever documented the heroic actions of a pilot managing a bird strike? Until Sully, they hadn’t. And it sounds weird but how Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger saved the entire crew and the aircraft after a dual-engine failure is an incredible story worth watching.

5. Dutch Pilot Girl

“Dutch Pilot Girl” is, you guessed it, a female pilot who happens to be Dutch. Very original name, yes, but the content actually is incredible. She flies commercial airliners into some beautiful locations and does a great job of showcasing the magic of using aviation to explore the world.

6. Jonny Kim

I’ve written about him before, and he’s still just as impressive as ever. He’s definitely been a source of inspiration, even though I only discovered his aviation side after I was already in the Navy and flying. To me, Jonny represents a diversity of interests and a drive to go beyond the typical career path. What he does is truly out of this world. Sad trombone.

7. Neil Armstrong

A man who needs no introduction. The first man to walk on the moon, Navy test pilot and aerospace engineer, and commander of the Gemini 8, Armstrong is a role model to more than just my aviation career. What’s crazy is he was in his first operational squadron less than two years after starting flight school in Pensacola. Now you have SNA’s making Lieutenant before even getting to the FRS. LOL.

8. Vincent “Jello” Aiello

Jello is a former Navy F-18 pilot who has done a lot of great work educating the masses on the inside perspective of flying planes in the military through his podcast. I loved listening and learning about Navy flight school, what makes Navy flying unique, and all the little details his guests would provide insight into on his show. He’s really grown quite a bit since I discovered him in 2018 and it’s great to see.

9. Bob Hoover

I first heard about this guy from a reservist instructor I had in Primary when I couldn’t do a barrel roll in the T-6 for shit. The IP recommended I watch this video to:

1. See what real aerobatic skill looks like

2. Consider DOR-ing to spare my ancestors further disgrace

The best part of all is that he would do all this flying in a suit and tie. Incredible.

What or who gets you excited about aviation? Anyone you think I missed and should be on this list? Let me know and I’ll add them to the #10 spot!

Exactly. Never.

So what would be the least useful advice article ever for the majority of the population?

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In no particular order, my top 5 airports to fly a Navy jet into (so far):

KHII, Lake Havasu City

A beautiful small airport located on Lake Havasu in Arizona, there’s always a mix of small civilian prop planes, private jets, and plenty of random military aircraft passing through. It’s a single, 8,000-foot, non-towered runway which is always fun as the majority of our non-tactical flying is IFR and strict course rules. They also serve up incredible breakfast burritos and give away lots of apparel and merchandise.

KAUS, Austin-Bergstrom International

A pretty well-known airport, Austin is a key stopover point on a cross-country or simply as a weather divert. A great rule to live by in military aviation is only plan routes through cities in which you want to spend the night in case you get canceled. Austin is definitely in that category since it’s full of good food, beer, and music. You’ll be praying for some bad weather to roll in especially if you’re heading back to Kingsville.

KCLL, College Station

If you’ve flown much at all in Southeast Texas then you’re probably intimately familiar with this airfield. Probably one of my favorites for quick out-and-ins for instrument currency, College Station is run like a machine. Quick taxiing and a ground crew that’ll get you topped off ASAP followed by a military-only pilot lounge with refreshments, it’s a clear recipe for success. Also for like $2 cash, they’ll give you a $20 voucher to the hangar restaurant. Not sure how the economics work there but I never asked questions.

KIWA, Mesa Gateway

With three parallel runways, it’s a fun little game of Russian roulette if you’re lined up to land on the correct one. Luckily I’ve never had to fly an approach to land but breaking out at 200 feet and determining which of the three I was staring down would be… interesting. But I will say, when the weather is clear it’s a beautiful approach filled with golf courses and sometimes snow-covered mountains. Barrio Brewing located just feet from the runway makes it an easy Top Fiver.

KNTU, NAS Oceana

Yeah, whatever—not exactly an airport you “fly into” but if you’re landing here there’s a decent chance it’s your home base which means you live in one of the best locations the Navy has to offer. Virginia Beach is home to NAS Oceana and can be an incredible airport to land at. Especially if you’re coming from the south, flying low over the Outer Banks will give you a great view of Kitty Hawk and the location where the Wright brothers first took flight over a hundred years ago.

What’s your favorite airport? If you’re a passenger on a Spirit flight you’d probably say “Anything, just land the plane and don’t charge me extra for doing it safely!”

Okay, Dad joke accomplished. Buh-bye!

A: A classic answer for a lot of things in the military: it depends. It depends on rank, time in service, and if you live in a high-cost-of-living area like San Diego or in a cheaper one like Kingsville, Texas. In general, you’ll start off making around $60,000 per year and, after about four years, be just above $100,000.

Q: How do you become a fighter pilot?

A: The path to becoming a fighter is long and challenging regardless of whether it’s with the Air Force, Marine Corps, or Navy. You’ll need to earn a four-year college degree and commission (Naval Academy, ROTC, or OCS), get accepted to a branch’s flight program, and crush flight school all the way through earning your wings.

Q: What kind of jets do fighter pilots fly?

A: You can read about some of the common jets flown in the Navy and Air Force here. A summary: the Navy flies F/A-18 Rhinos, the Air Force mostly flies F-15s, 16s, 22s, and Marines fly the F/A-18 Hornets. All three branches also fly the Joint Strike Fighter—the F-35A/B/C.

Q: What’s the difference between Navy and Air Force fighter pilots?

A: Both branches make exceptional pilots, but in my very short experience I’d say Air Force pilots are more technically sound and specialized while Navy pilots are more flexible and able to adjust to a variety of scenarios. Purely opinion…

Q: How long does it take to become a fighter pilot?

A: It took me roughly three years from the day I commissioned in the Navy. The Marines go through the same schooling as us except they also take about six months longer due to TBS (a ground-focused training for all Marines before attending flight school). It’s probably similar in the Air Force but I can’t say for sure.

Q: Do fighter pilots experience G-force? How do they handle it?

A: Yes, fighter pilots often maximize the capabilities of their jet—that can mean upwards of 9 G’s depending on the type of mission. Through compression pants called a G-suit, specific body posture, and physical exercise when not flying, pilots train themselves to sustain these intense forces.

Q: How do fighter pilots handle high-stress situations or emergencies?

A: Practice! It sounds a bit strange to say we “practice emergencies” but it’s 100% true. We use both high-tech simulators and basic planning to practice what we would do in an emergency as well as how to prevent them in the first place.

Q: Can women be fighter pilots?

A: Absolutely! Since 1993 women have been allowed to fly fighters in combat. And today they even do Super Bowl Flyovers!

Q: What do fighter pilots do when they’re not flying?

A: To every fighter pilot’s dismay, we also have a job outside of flying. Typically called a “ground job”, it’s something we have to learn to balance our time around. Usually administrative or paperwork-related, flying a desk isn’t nearly as exciting.

Q: What happens if a fighter pilot ejects?

A: Well, first of all, hopefully the pilot survives. The Navy uses the NACES by Martin Baker and although it can safely eject in all kinds of parameters and one has never failed to successfully eject, that doesn’t necessarily mean the pilot always survives the countless other issues that arise post-ejection. Rapid decompression, power lines, and wild animals are all potential hazards pilots might face.

Q: What qualities make a good fighter pilot?

A: A desire to be better than you were yesterday, to learn something from every flight, and to have the humility to share your mistakes with others. Aviation has made massive strides in safety over the last decades and this can largely be attributed to incremental improvements and sharing best practices—sometimes learned the hard way.

As Harry Potter would say, “Hang on…”

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If you clicked the above link to the Wasington Post article you would have noticed the word “another” and other peculiar words like “fourth major mishap in months” also in the title.

And then you’d probably remember hearing about a ship getting stuck in the Suez canal, another one shooting down its own fighter jet, and yet another dumping a jet off its side during a turn.

“Wow, that’s a lot of mishaps for one nation’s Navy. At least it didn’t all happen to one ship.”

Except it did. It has. It das.

Yes, all four of these events have happened to the same sad little nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier just trying to mind her own business in the Red Sea.

To recap:

1. Dec 22, 2024 – An F/A-18F from USS Truman was accidentally shot down by the cruiser USS Gettysburg in a friendly fire incident over the Red Sea.

2. Feb 12, 2025 – The Truman collided with a Panamanian merchant vessel near Port Said, causing hull damage but no injuries.

3. Apr 28, 2025 – An F/A-18E being towed on deck slid overboard during evasive maneuvers to avoid a Houthi missile and drone attack.

4. May 6, 2025 – A Super Hornet was lost into the Red Sea after a failed landing attempt; both aviators safely ejected.

That’s four major events in less than six months. The only link? CVN-75: the USS Harry S. Truman. Thankfully, only minor injuries to sailors have been reported from any of these disasters.

I’m not here to cast aspersions or make memes (although there are plenty of good ones all over social media). However, I am here to point out one simple fact everyone seems to be ignoring: there will be a new Disney movie coming out soon and I cannot wait to see it.

In the 1950s, jet aviation was exploding, so Pan Am World Airways contacted Rolex in search of a watch that could precisely track both cockpit time and multiple time zones during transcontinental flights. The iconic Pepsi was born, resulting in pilots and watches ever after being joined at the hip—or wrist.

But fancy watches are only for glamorous actors and fancy-schmancy commercial airline pilots staying at the Ritz, right?

Wrong.

Even the fastest man in the world, Chuck Yeager—the first human to break the sound barrier—wore the Pepsi Rolex as an Air Force fighter pilot.

Fast forward 70 years, and although cockpits have made massive technological gains, the need for a precise and reliable wristwatch remains as important as ever.

You won’t find many Rolexes hanging around ready rooms these days, but there’s no shortage of interesting timepieces worth talking about.

Which begs the question, in today’s day and age of military jet aviation: which type of watches do I see on most of my fellow F-18 drivers’ wrists?

Casio F91W Digital Watch

Without a doubt, the most commonly worn watch, the Casio F91W is cheap, reliable, and, most importantly, cheap. It’s nothing special, but it gets the job done. Compliant with secure rooms like a SCIF and durable enough to get banged up in the cockpit, nothing says “simple and professional” like the F91W.

Garmin Fenix

Coming in at a very close second is the Garmin Fenix line of watches. High speed and techy, the Fenix is a glorified Apple Watch that lets everyone else know you’re 100% in the military. “Still don’t believe me? Check my tattoo of this 3-masted ship!” What’s funny about the Fenix is that it was standard government-issued at one point for F-18 aircrew when the 18 was struggling with cabin decompression issues.

G-SHOCK

The more understated sibling to the Garmin Fenix wearer—still proudly carrying their fair share of military hubris. The G-SHOCK is a popular one, probably by the fellow who was deciding between becoming a SEAL or a pilot and… this was just a “better fit”. Riiight. Still a cool watch though, and thankfully tough enough to handle an air-conditioned cockpit.

Apple Watch

With 80% of iPhone users also owning an Apple Watch and Apple Watches making up 10-15% of all watches worldwide, it’s no surprise these watches are prevalent in naval jet aviation. Although certainly convenient, they’re just not that cool…

Breitling

I have to imagine a Breitling comes with a complimentary DCS World membership—these watches seem to be a favorite among the serious aviation crowd. And it makes sense. They’ve got the style and pedigree that appeal to pilots who know their stuff. At least, that’s how it looks from my perspective—someone who definitely doesn’t.

Shark Watch

I had never seen these before prior to getting into naval aviation and… for good reason? I think they’re either a cult classic or some type of surf watch. Maybe both. In any case, that does kind of check out because, I don’t know what it is, but a disproportionately large number of pilots dress like they’re all surfers from San Diego. Maybe they are. I think it’s more likely they share the same genetic mutation as those flight school students who move to Texas for Primary and all of a sudden decide to start wearing cowboy boots.

Rolex

Last on this list because, well, it’s a f$#king Rolex and they’re the OG. But WHO in the military is getting paid enough to justify flying with a Rolex, and does the IRS know about them? On top of all that, I have actually never seen a GMT on a fellow naval aviator, mostly Datejusts. Sad.

All this talk of watches, you know the crazy thing? There are some sick individuals out there who don’t wear one at all. I guess you can’t be late to push on timeline if you never know the time…

Are you a pilot? What watch do you wear?

Let me know down below if you think I missed one!

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