Bogeys and Bandits: The Making of a Fighter Pilot (Paperback)

~ (Author) "His squadron call sign was "Mongo," an inevitable mutation of his real name-Nick Mongillo..." (more)
Key Phrases: strike fighter training, strike fighter community, strike fighter pilot, Van Doren, Marine Corps, Road Ammons (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gandt adds to his three previous aviation histories the story of six men and two women undergoing the testing process for becoming carrier-qualified pilots of the navy's FA-18 Hornet. Except that two of them are a pair of identical twins, the eight constitute a cross section of the current generation of aspiring pilots in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and their reactions to various problems facing that generation, such as downsized armed forces, political correctness, and the sheer sophistication of modern fighter aircraft. Eventually, one of the trainees is killed in a flying accident, one of the women is fighting to retain her wings, and the others are on active duty. Gandt's is a detailed, powerful, and thoroughly absorbing account of a process that cannot be made either simple or safe and still accomplish its purpose, and it affords a revealing look into the contemporary naval aviation community at work. Roland Green --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Tales from the cockpits and ground-training classes of those learning to fly the navy's most advanced fleet fighter/bomber jet- -the FA-18 Hornet. Gandt, a veteran navy fighter pilot (Sky Gods: The Fall of Pan Am, 1995), follows eight trainees from their introductory briefing to the difficult final exam and on to their service with the fleet, where they become accustomed to taking off and landing on a carrier pitching and tossing on the open sea. They must master a push- button, computer-controlled, $30 million marvel that routinely exceeds the sound barrier. Gandt notes that the ``Incredible Shrinking Navy'' has, since the end of the Cold War, far fewer openings for pilot trainees. Today's pilots are chosen with a heavy stress on college ranking, in contrast with wartime standards that welcomed any eager volunteers. Some high-ranking veteran fliers tell Gandt that they would not qualify under present standards and that they are amazed to hear today's sophisticated trainees discussing stocks and corporate jobs. Gandt also touches on more controversial matters: He calls the Tailhook incident a political witch hunt and suggests that, combined with the Clinton administration's decision to allow women to apply for combat duty, it has created serious new problems for the navy including a dangerous double standard. He claims that an unqualified female flier allowed to carry out a particularly difficult assignment was killed in a flawed carrier landing. The navy, he asserts, covered up the incident by attributing it to engine failure. While Gandt discusses these matters frankly, much of the book is taken up with the day-to-day reality of flying an extraordinary machine and the exhilaration that comes with it. His descriptions of flight sweep are vivid enough to transport the reader to the Hornet's cockpit. A fascinating look into an arcane, risky, high-tech world inhabited by bright, brave youngsters. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140264124
• ISBN-13: 978-0140264128
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #507,849 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of life in the F/A-18 world, June 12, 1998

By A Customer

This book was a fascinating look at the state of Naval Aviation today. The nay-sayers who claim this book is fiction need to get their facts straight. As a former F/A-18 pilot and Navy jet instructor pilot, I personally flew with four of the students, and also know one of the other students from my time in the Navy. And, for the record, I am 95% sure that one of the male pilots' names was fictional, as I flew with someone who matches the description very well and finished training at the same time as the others. This book correctly conveys the attitudes, fears, and exhilaration of flying the Hornet, as well as the problems with the double standard in today's Navy. A must read for anyone with the slightest interest in flying for the Navy today.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A RAG like no other, January 6, 2000

By	Herman Snerd (San Fran) - See all my reviews

This book takes you on a journey through a fighter jockeys training and life. It follows the line of 8 piolets going through the training system call RAG. It is the FA/18 fighters training program. It is a true, real life story and is a great read for anyone who was,is or want's to be a fighter piolet. It shows the bores of inside the classroom learning, the thrill of one of the piolets first flights and the way it affects the wives and children of the piolets. A great story and great read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent story----well and factually told., July 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Bogeys and Bandits: The Making of a Fighter Pilot (Hardcover)

BOGEYS AND BANDITS is the first factual accountof naval TACAIR in the Post-Tailhook "PC Era".Gandt's research is both extensive and accurate. His sources are unimpeachable (contary to what one critic here imagines). The main characters are better than any fiction could produce---because they're real people, real Naval Aviators. Best of all, Gandt does not shy away from the "women in combat" issue, as many would in today's PC-liberal climate. Refreshingly, he engages the issue head-on and up-front. Specifically he reveals some painful truths about preferential treatment in womens' flight training. He takes no position whatsoever---but he reports the facts with brutal honesty. Because of this I predict great whining (and the usual slander) from certain radical feminists, but the fact remains: Bob Gandt has done his homework, and has written a most excellent and enjoyable account of some true American Heroes.