10 Percent True - Tales from the Cockpit

10PCT EP89 MeSo Harney and Mask Stark0:00 welcome to Mask and MeSo and episode preview 1:02 MeSo intro1:55 Mask intro3:22 background to the fateful deployment 5:40 initial 6 ship deployment ends in a bunch of diversions7:02 mission set(s)9:00 defining SCAR from the crew point of view10:42 geographical constraints?11:30 co-ordinating with other assets13:20 treading unfamiliar ground with the spotlight on you?15:20 co-ordinating with ground assets?16:55 difficulty with ROE/authority/responsibility?20:55 weaponeering/loadouts23:17 strafe?24:55 threats?26:46 SERE refresher and preparation/study?30:40 hard crewed, previous flight experience together?33:35 standardisation?34:00 mission of the day, mission planning and ejection contract37:30 pre planned evasion tactics?39:18 initial phase of the mission40:48 trapped fuel, initial troubleshooting and handling imbalance in the established community fashion43:09 target details45:12 target egress, loading and initial indications of trouble47:30 -229 jets spin departure aids - did they work?49:30 thought process in this phase?51:05 mayday call51:44 flight lead’s SA and tapes?53:10 bailout decision and sequence56:45 opening shock (of chute) and bye bye NVGs59:02 how long in the chute and contemplating landing1:03:50 landing roll/PLF

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10PCT EP88 – Dave “Khan” Carr | F-15 Eagle, F-16 Viper, Weapons School & Aggressors

Dave “Khan” Carr joins 10 Percent True to discuss an extraordinary fighter career flying both the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Viper.

From Cold War intercepts over Alaska and Iceland to the pressure cooker of the USAF Fighter Weapons School, Red Flag, and Aggressor duty, Khan offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at elite fighter aviation.

This episode explores how the USAF prepared to fight the Soviet Union, how air combat tactics evolved through the Cold War and beyond, and what it really took to become a top-tier fighter pilot.

Along the way, Khan shares stories of Arctic alert missions, Keflavik intercepts, Weapons School work-ups, massive Red Flag battles, Soviet threat replication, and how the Eagle and Viper compared in a fight.

If you’ve ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes in elite fighter aviation, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Timestamps

2:20 A Quick Word from Steve
4:04 Welcome, Khan
4:50 Khan Introduces Himself
6:40 First Tour at Elmendorf – Flying the Eagle in Alaska
8:38 Early Career Challenges & Encounters
12:12 Discussing Losses in the Early Days
14:08 Dealing with Loss
15:34 Eyeing the Next Career Step – and Making It Happen
17:17 Keflavik – CFTs & Diversions to Scotland
19:47 Steve Geeks Out on CFTs
21:14 The Mission at Keflavik – Bears, Tomcats & Lightnings (with Tankers)
23:04 Honing Air-to-Air Skills as the Eagle Matured
25:28 Dialling Up the AoA – “It Depends…”
26:55 Rudder Use, Evolving Tactics & When to Use It
28:32 Weapons School – Selection, Work-Ups & Challenges
32:40 A Memorable Weapons School Sortie – Vark Speed & Perfect Execution
35:58 Why No “Super Squadrons”?
37:24 The Benefits of Weapons School Graduation
40:30 Expertise Across All Facets of the Mission
41:52 Tyndall & the FTU
44:35 Does It Get Better Than This?
46:18 Eagle Culture – Did It Change?
49:52 Peak Performance or Room for Improvement? The Importance of Comms
54:12 Getting Granular – What It Takes to Make It in the Eagle Community
56:34 Regrets About Missing Desert Storm?
58:12 Joining the Aggressors
59:48 Being a “True” Aggressor
1:04:25 Gloves Off?
1:06:10 Simulating the Threat Accurately – Who Sees Who?
1:09:48 Maintaining Situational Awareness
1:10:55 Becoming a Threat System SME – The Process
1:13:05 Expectation vs Reality as More Information Became Available
1:15:50 “Natural” Bias?
1:17:54 Views on Threat Advantages & Capabilities
1:21:45 Eagle vs Viper Comparisons (Intro Teaser Topic)
1:25:02 The “Bad Bob” (VX-9 F-14D) Encounter
1:26:55 Toughest Opponent as an Aggressor?
1:30:19 When Things Don’t Go to Plan – Scaring Yourself
1:34:10 Eating Shit as an Eagle Guy Flying Vipers?
1:34:54 Twilight of a Career – Guard Life, MSIP A Models, NVGs & Iraq
1:39:32 Young vs Old Eagle Driver
1:42:14 Keeping Up with Evolving Tactics & Change
1:49:30 Fini Flight
1:53:15 Do You Miss It?
1:53:54 Thanks, Khan – Till Next Time

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10PCT EP87 Marty “Pappy” Brogli – A-10 Desert Storm

Marty “Pappy” Brogli joins 10 Percent True to tell the story of flying the A-10 Warthog in Operation Desert Storm.

From Cold War preparation and the long deployment to the Gulf, to tank killing, SAMs, AAA, and losing friends in combat, Pappy delivers an extraordinarily candid account of what it was really like to fly the Hog in one of the most dangerous air wars in history.

This is not the sanitised version of Desert Storm. Pappy talks honestly about fear, humour, squadron culture, survival, morality, and the reality of combat at low level in an aircraft built to take punishment – and sometimes barely survive it.

Along the way, he shares remarkable stories of crippled aircraft, manual reversion landings, near disasters, and the unique camaraderie of the A-10 community.

If you’ve ever wondered what Desert Storm looked and felt like through the eyes of an A-10 pilot, this is one you won’t want to miss.

EE Lightning P1B | 10 Percent True | EP84 – Part 2The restoration of the English Electric Lightning P1B reaches a major milestone as the fuselage emerges from storage for the first time in nearly 30 years. Blackie gives an extraordinary tour through the aircraft’s bizarre and brilliant engineering – from handmade panels and unique fuel systems to the realities of maintaining and restoring Britain’s legendary Mach 2 interceptor. Along the way, he reveals the challenges of preparing the aircraft for Goodwood, the hunt for rare original parts, and why the Lightning remains one of the most fascinating fighters ever built.

This is the first episode of a new series we’re calling The Bullshit Detectorist. I’m joined by Starbaby Pietrucha, and the idea is simple—take some of the stuff you hear all the time about military aviation and see if it actually stands up. Stealth’s dead, drones have changed everything, low-frequency radar can see anything… we get into all of it.0:00 Aurora1:00 welcome back Starbaby - series outline/premise3:55 super low freq/passive radars are the death of stealth11:15 other dimensions of lo-observable?15:11 collapsing the kill chain?16:40 HARM were used to maybe make the Iraqis duck a bit…… (Dan Hampton quote) 🤡 21:35 “it’s not the plane, but the person in the box”26:02 “there’s no 100% defence against low cost cruise missiles (Shahed/Geran etc)” - previews further discussion on mass as a principle of war33:23 Starbaby and the Somme teaser34:06 “SR-71 shouldn’t have been retired”37:10 why did the U-2 survive?39:25 Aurora?43:36 “Crewed, oxygen breathing AEW aircraft are overrated and unnecessary…..” (incl underfunding/mismanagement of suck programs follow on)49:28 “the appearance of an aircraft is the most important (in US combat aircraft selection)”Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 53:32 “high speed low level penetration of an enemy IAD is redundant because of stealth”56:38 low level mitigation? 59:25 “Ghost Bat” or “MQ-28”1:01:18 SDB stormbreaker mean 1000 and 2000lbs bombs are unreasonable risks of collateral damage 1:07:30 intercepting bombs is much harder than cruise missiles 1:08:46 Stormbreaker 2 and associated marketing1:12:15 wrapping up