Forum: General F-16 forum

GUMS!

Copy that GhettoBird...

Any Fighter Jock that has flown that many combat missions without getting his alpha shot down and that can bring a Viper safely and unscratched back to the barn with an LEF stuck full up, enough said.

Another great protector of the American Constitution brought to you by the United States Air Force Academy.

F-16.net Sponsor

There are numerous good ones out there and if the above accomplishments are the criteria, you have about 500 guys with similar records: Saved a jet, tons of time with tons of combat, generally good dude with that something special about them.

In the end, we all have our favorites that made us the best. But only each of us know who that is.

Would it be a pilot that has won the Joe Bill Dryden Semper Viper Award.

I just got this PM:

"I just wanted to let you know I editted your post in 'Best F-16 pilot' as we considered it to be disrespectful. [...]"

Did anyone else think it was disrespectful when I used the word Deference? Did anyone else get the point? Are there any fighter pilots out there? Is there anyone that cares that they edit the forum this way?

Too politically correct for me. Tooey.

Didn't seem disprespectful to me...looks like the self-esteem police are out today, wouldn't want somebody to feel bad about something said on the internet.

I do not get why it is so hard to say that there is a pilot or pilots that are outstanding when flying the F-16. Dale Snodgrass was considered one of the best F-14 pilots in the USN. And why was it stupid of me to mention the Semper Viper Award. I did not complain about the answer I got, but thought was un called for to be quite honest.

Maybe he thought, like I did, that it was odd to suggest an award recipient as opposed to Joe Bill Dryden himself.

In any case, the originator of this topic asked for something that can't possibly be provided.

Nice fors post newbie...

Come on man!

OBTWIMHO I'm the best Viper pilot....just say'n

Who, generally in the aviation world is considered to be the best pilot (F-16) in Desert Storm?

Either its a guy or a few guys that can be argued.

Who's considered to be the best?

Too many variables in your question...

Air to Air?
Air to Ground?

For example, during Desert Storm, the F-16 had ZERO air to air engagements.

Maybe rephrase the question.

IMHO, Desert Storm was too short and too one-sided to have a "greatest pilot" contest. Even the guys in Eagles and Hornets that got A-A victories were in the right place at the right time. True, that can be said about anyone who got a kill in any war, but I mean that there were outstanding Eagle drivers who flew that whole war and never got the chance to even lock up an Iraqi jet. There were Viper guys who were at the top of their game and would have cleaned house against an Iraqi F-1, but none got the chance. The guys who got kills all deserved them and all siezed the opportunity that they had and made the most of it. All were obviously very skilled. But there were guys just as good (or maybe even better, who knows) who just happened to be on a different line of the flying schedule that day and didn't get a chance to draw blood. In a longer war, where the pilots have more chances to be exposed to the enemy (a 1-yr tour in Vietnam, for example), you can start to see who really excels and who got lucky a time or two. I'd wager that there were a few Viper guys who truly made a difference and did some great work, above and beyond, in the A-G war over there, I know there were. I'm not a Viper guy, though, so I don't know many of those stories. I doubt you can say "this guy was the best Viper pilot in the war" but I bet you can say "this guy really kicked a$$ over there...did some great work". In the end, that's all any of us can hope for when we hang it up.

archmage10 wrote:

Who, generally in the aviation world is considered to be the best pilot (F-16) in Desert Storm?

I didn't fly the F-16 there... but the obvious answer is... me.

I wasn't there, stuck back at Hill. I was told that Gen Horner visited every F-16 base and told every Viper pilot that he'd courtmartial anyone that shot a missile. While it offended some, given the Eagle's better ID capes and dedicated mission it was the right decision.

Didn't stop one of our guys...who rolled in still in Missile Override and launched an AIM-9 instead of dropping his bombs. He just got sent home.

My vote would be Col H. - our Wing DO. He ran the Wing because our weenie Commander was AWOL in all but name. He lead from the front and pushed up to KKMC with our Moody guys, the 69th. Every unit had their go to guys tho. It was a group effort in the finest sense, so picking a #1 is not really useful.

Quote:

I was told that Gen Horner visited every F-16 base and told every Viper pilot that he'd courtmartial anyone that shot a missile.

Could'a just been his way of saying...

"We'd like a few gun kills."

Less recognized? Murat Yildirim is a legend. Called as Kara Murat.
Nobody has seen his tail. Best fighter ever.

Forum: General F-16 forum

Best F-16 pilot Past/Current?