The First Three Seconds of a Dogfight

The First Three Seconds of a Dogfight

Share this story Two fighters close head-on at a combined speed near 1,000 knots. For a heartbeat they flash past each other, close enough for the pilots to see helmets in the other cockpit. Then the real fight begins. That instant has a name: the merge. What a pilot...
Flat Spin: The F-14 Mode That Ends in Ejection

Flat Spin: The F-14 Mode That Ends in Ejection

Share this story The most famous three minutes in aviation cinema are a flat spin. An F-14 departs, settles into a flat rotation, and the crew ejects into the canopy.The remarkable thing about that scene is not the drama. It is that the US Navy’s own flight...