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BLOWN SLICK: the People, the Stories, the Perspective – the Book
Perspective of the last 12 months of the air war over Vietnam based on the experiences of those who flew into combat from USS Midway’s flight deck. Published April 2026. First off, My book Blown Slick has been privately published as of April 2026. Initially intended for a select group of 50 +/_ aviators, family and close friends the order grew to 100 all gone. I now have requests for more and a second printing is underway. This book is 8.5 x 11, soft cover and 248 pages with significant color and superb art work by Peter Chilelli. The cover [...]
Midway – 4 June 1942 – “Remembered Sky Day” Reflections
1942 - The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Please note the six new options on the Home page to allow quick access to the major subject matter threads for RememberedSky As a wingman on an "Alpha strike" to targets in North Vietnam during Linebacker I in 1972 - with 30 -40 A-7s, A-6’s, F-4’s, bombers, fighters, Iron-Hand, MiG Cap, tankers, Electronic Warfare birds and an E-2 control, inbound was both a time of anticipation and building tension, and additionally, a period of just waiting and thinking. Over several dozens of these Alphas in an 11 month cruise, I don’t [...]
Fight’s ON: Aerial Attack in California
Testimony of Pilot #38 Vegetation fires, or wildland fires, are the closest thing to military aerial combat a civilian pilot will ever get. Thanks to Ray “Drifty,” DiLorenzo, a former California fire pilot now living in Montana. And to Skip Leonard for the post in his daily “List.” This is a unique and most important story telling about a different kind of flying than those of us he and I mostly write about – fast mover aviation by Navy, Marine and Air Force fighter/attack/strike fighter pilots. This type of ” Attack” down in the weeds and canyons with high gust [...]
December 7, 1941 – a day for remembrance and teaching
Good Saturday morning December 7, 2024. . . Over the last 32 years I have asked my students of all ages what happened on this day in History and I have found that as the years went by fewer and fewer of them knew what this date meant or even what Pearl Harbor was all about. Very discouraging. History is something that you need to remember so you will not make the same mistakes again. I fear we are still doing that today. Skip Leonard.. The List This day in Naval and Marine Corps History 1941 – In [...]
Fight’s On: The Aviator Cancer Examination Study (ACES) Act – H.R 4886 > H.R.530
Testimony of Pilot #37 On October 15, 2021 Commander Thomas ‘Boot’ Hill, Navy F-4 and F-14 fighter pilot, passed away from esophageal cancer. A-6 pilot Capt. Dave ‘Snako’ Kelly died from melanoma of the brain on 16 March 2014. Randy Anderson, Navy F-8, F-4, and Air Guard F-105 pilot died from Glioblastoma – brain cancer – 0n 4 Dec 2007. Randy was my best friend out of college and roommate for the first half of flight school, until he got married and we went off to two different air stations for advanced flight training. ‘Snako’ and I were in the [...]
Battle of Midway – The Legacy
… a fundamental transformation in naval power had just taken place. Carriers usurped the prime strategic role of battleships in that their principal opponents were their enemy counterparts, and they should only to be committed to battle in the proper circumstances .. Lundstrom, John B. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal Attack on the Akagi by R.G. Smith On the anniversary of the Battle of Midway (June 4-5 1942) , Rememberedsky offers some reflection on the battle particularly in context of sea-based airpower given current tension and potential conflict in the South China [...]
Last of the Few
Group Captain John Hemingway, now 104, was a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain. He is the last known surviving member of the group Sir Winston Churchill famously described as “the few”.
Hymn to a Humble Hero
Testimony of Pilot # 35 https://youtu.be/mgkqWsGGUwY
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day -Reflections
Testimony of Pilot #34 War and remembrance No matter the old, “smart” decision makers No matter the politics Or “statecraft” of the DC pundits It was our war We fought it Some lost years Some lost lives Some lost family As young’uns we never set out to buy but still … We own it Band of brothers and sisters WE SHALL EVER BE National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day is today, March 29th, and it is also the 50th Anniversary of this special memorial observance. This is the purpose: “As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect [...]
INNOVATION IN ATTACK AVIATION: The A-7 Avionics Case
Blown Slick Series #16 The A-7A/B should be recognized as the end of the line for pure, iron bomb dive bombers including most famously the Dauntless and the A-1 Skyraider, and the A-7D/E as the beginning of a new era of attack a/c – same airframe and aerodynamics but with a major improvement in the systems/avionics. It is not unreasonable to state that the F/A-18 and F-35 have at their core a technical and operational capability that is Corsair II D/E in design concept technically and philosophically – what we now characterize as “strike fighter.” (F-16, F/A-18, F-35) The story of [...]
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BLOWN SLICK: the People, the Stories, the Perspective – the Book
Perspective of the last 12 months of the air war over Vietnam based on the experiences of those who flew into combat from USS Midway’s flight deck. Published April 2026. First off, My book Blown Slick has been privately published as of April 2026. Initially intended for a select group of 50 +/_ aviators, family and close friends the order grew to 100 all gone. I now have requests for more and a second printing is underway. This book is 8.5 x 11, soft cover and 248 pages with significant color and superb art work by Peter Chilelli. The cover [...]
Midway – 4 June 1942 – “Remembered Sky Day” Reflections
1942 - The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Please note the six new options on the Home page to allow quick access to the major subject matter threads for RememberedSky As a wingman on an "Alpha strike" to targets in North Vietnam during Linebacker I in 1972 - with 30 -40 A-7s, A-6’s, F-4’s, bombers, fighters, Iron-Hand, MiG Cap, tankers, Electronic Warfare birds and an E-2 control, inbound was both a time of anticipation and building tension, and additionally, a period of just waiting and thinking. Over several dozens of these Alphas in an 11 month cruise, I don’t [...]
Fight’s ON: Aerial Attack in California
Testimony of Pilot #38 Vegetation fires, or wildland fires, are the closest thing to military aerial combat a civilian pilot will ever get. Thanks to Ray “Drifty,” DiLorenzo, a former California fire pilot now living in Montana. And to Skip Leonard for the post in his daily “List.” This is a unique and most important story telling about a different kind of flying than those of us he and I mostly write about – fast mover aviation by Navy, Marine and Air Force fighter/attack/strike fighter pilots. This type of ” Attack” down in the weeds and canyons with high gust [...]
December 7, 1941 – a day for remembrance and teaching
Good Saturday morning December 7, 2024. . . Over the last 32 years I have asked my students of all ages what happened on this day in History and I have found that as the years went by fewer and fewer of them knew what this date meant or even what Pearl Harbor was all about. Very discouraging. History is something that you need to remember so you will not make the same mistakes again. I fear we are still doing that today. Skip Leonard.. The List This day in Naval and Marine Corps History 1941 – In [...]
Fight’s On: The Aviator Cancer Examination Study (ACES) Act – H.R 4886 > H.R.530
Testimony of Pilot #37 On October 15, 2021 Commander Thomas ‘Boot’ Hill, Navy F-4 and F-14 fighter pilot, passed away from esophageal cancer. A-6 pilot Capt. Dave ‘Snako’ Kelly died from melanoma of the brain on 16 March 2014. Randy Anderson, Navy F-8, F-4, and Air Guard F-105 pilot died from Glioblastoma – brain cancer – 0n 4 Dec 2007. Randy was my best friend out of college and roommate for the first half of flight school, until he got married and we went off to two different air stations for advanced flight training. ‘Snako’ and I were in the [...]
Battle of Midway – The Legacy
… a fundamental transformation in naval power had just taken place. Carriers usurped the prime strategic role of battleships in that their principal opponents were their enemy counterparts, and they should only to be committed to battle in the proper circumstances .. Lundstrom, John B. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal Attack on the Akagi by R.G. Smith On the anniversary of the Battle of Midway (June 4-5 1942) , Rememberedsky offers some reflection on the battle particularly in context of sea-based airpower given current tension and potential conflict in the South China [...]
Last of the Few
Group Captain John Hemingway, now 104, was a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain. He is the last known surviving member of the group Sir Winston Churchill famously described as “the few”.
Hymn to a Humble Hero
Testimony of Pilot # 35 https://youtu.be/mgkqWsGGUwY
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day -Reflections
Testimony of Pilot #34 War and remembrance No matter the old, “smart” decision makers No matter the politics Or “statecraft” of the DC pundits It was our war We fought it Some lost years Some lost lives Some lost family As young’uns we never set out to buy but still … We own it Band of brothers and sisters WE SHALL EVER BE National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day is today, March 29th, and it is also the 50th Anniversary of this special memorial observance. This is the purpose: “As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect [...]
INNOVATION IN ATTACK AVIATION: The A-7 Avionics Case
Blown Slick Series #16 The A-7A/B should be recognized as the end of the line for pure, iron bomb dive bombers including most famously the Dauntless and the A-1 Skyraider, and the A-7D/E as the beginning of a new era of attack a/c – same airframe and aerodynamics but with a major improvement in the systems/avionics. It is not unreasonable to state that the F/A-18 and F-35 have at their core a technical and operational capability that is Corsair II D/E in design concept technically and philosophically – what we now characterize as “strike fighter.” (F-16, F/A-18, F-35) The story of [...]