Another regular feature of this blog that I am considering including is short bios on some of history’s greatest fighter pilots. These men have inspiring stories and in many cases have defined what the job of being a fighter pilot is today.

Their stories remind me of why I wanted to have this thrilling career to begin with, and I hope that they will get you fired up to not only be a fighter pilot, but be the best you can be at all that you do. The first man I am going the tell you a little about is John Boyd of the United States Air Force, a man credited with changing the art of air warfare.

Boyd got his wings in 1952 after completing basic training in Mississippi, and then went on to do combat training at Nellis Air Force Base. During his time at that base he gained the reputation as “40-Second Boyd” because he would bet anyone $40 that he could beat them at simulated air-to-air combat in under 40 seconds; he never lost! He never seemed to have an off day.

He is also famous for his maneuver, “flat-plating the bird” in which he essentially turns a plane at 90 degrees. It is still one of the best defensive moves in a fighter pilots arsenal. The thing that Boyd is perhaps most famous for is his Arial Attack Study. Before Boyd, flying jets was seen as more of an art form than a science, but Boyd recognized that every move a fighter pilot made in air had a counter move, and that every counter also had a counter.

His Arial Attack Study is still used today, and has not been changed much since his time.
Boyd is also famous for the EM theory, or Energy Maneuverability theory, and it was while he was a student at Georgia Tech that he developed this idea. It changed the way air combat was conducted, and is the reason the US has dominated the skies since.

Essentially it enabled fighter pilots to evaluate their energy potential at any altitude and at any maneuver. Perhaps more importantly, however, it also allowed them to determine the energy potential of their adversary. It was this theory that was the idea behind the F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets.

Boyd is definitely an American hero of the Air Force. He served his country in both Korea as a fighter pilot, and in the Gulf war as a strategist. He passed away in 1997, and is definitely a fighter pilot all fighter pilots should know more about!