“To fly is freedom. It is overcoming gravity, lifting your feet off the ground, and merging into the blue of the sky—into the infinity of blue. As you experience the magic of speeding at 1000 km per hour, being here one moment and suddenly there the next, you also enjoy the flexibility of being. And while feeling the loneliness in the vastness of the blue sky, to realize our tiny existence in the infinity of the universe is to fly. It is humility.” “…While I was flying northbound at 5,000 feet, I saw a trace on my radar about 10 miles ahead and locked onto it. It was a slow aircraft, which surprised me. As I relayed the information to the radar, the radar gave a ‘hostile’ warning. I immediately switched my weapon to an infrared-guided missile. As I got closer, I saw with the naked eye that the target was a C-130 transport aircraft. It was either performing an operation or providing close air support. I pressed the trigger for the heat-seeking missile and started to pull. Just as the missile was about to launch, I saw someone bail out with a parachute from under the C-130…” “How does one become a pilot?” “What is the daily life of fighter pilots like?”
“How does one become a pilot?”
“What is the daily life of fighter pilots like?”
The author, himself a former fighter pilot, answers these questions with fluent storytelling, sharing his own experiences, memories, and emotions. The book, which starts with a child's entry to Kuleli Military High School, takes us through the details of the Military Academy, Flight School, and combat training. It then offers glimpses into the daily life of a fighter pilot in active units, sharing many interesting experiences with readers—such as the Bosnia Operation, the Kardak Crisis, exchange piloting in Pakistan, the Red Flag Exercise in the United States, squadron command, and incidents like aircraft accidents. In addition to in-depth technical information about being a fighter pilot, the book brings together a host of bittersweet memories, all presented to the reader in an easily readable and engaging style.
