F-14 Fighter Pilot Francesco “Paco” Chierici

Send us Fan Mail If you loved Top Gun, you're going to love this episode! F-14 Fighter Pilot Francesco “Paco” Chierici joins Gary Scott Thomas to get our adrenaline going by taking us through the excitement of a "dog fight." Oh, and did we mention he's an author, trainer, and video game script writer? He's lived quite a life so far! In this episode: How he got the name Paco Being the FNG What G-force feels like Dog fights* How to prevent the air from getting the air sucked out of his lungs If there’s a fear The violence in the cockpit The artistry involved in an aerial dog fight How many people it takes to carry out the mission The real legacy of the first female fighter pilot in the U.S. military to die in a crash How he navigated the geopolitical aspects of the book His thoughts on drones’ effects on pilots One of the coolest moments he experienced Being a fighter pilot trainer Writing a script for a video game His book Lions of the Sky About Paco: During his active duty career in the U.S. Navy, Francesco “Paco” Chierici flew A-6E Intruders and F-14A Tomcats, deployed to conflict zones from Somalia to Iraq and was stationed aboard carriers including the USS Ranger, Nimitz and Kitty Hawk. Throughout his military career, Paco accumulated 3,000 tactical hours, 400 carrier landings, a Southwest Asia Service Medal with Bronze Star, and three Strike/Flight Air Medals. Unable to give up dogfighting, he flew the F-5 Tiger II for a further ten years as a Bandit. https://www.lionsofthesky.com Connect with Gary: Gary's Website Follow Gary on Instagram Gary's Tiktok Gary's Facebook Watch the episodes on YouTube Advertise on the Podcast Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!