Mac Serge Tucker - Fighter Pilot: Mis-Adventures beyond the sound barrier with an Australian Top Gun

The pioneers of jet aviation believed a daemon lived in the sky, behind an invisible wall called the sound barrier. These early pilots said anyone who challenged the barrier in the quest for more speed was confronted by the daemon, who would shake your aircraft so violently that your instruments would shatter, your controls would freeze up and you would poop in your flight suit.

This man is funny; he makes me want to dive back into his book every evening faster than a refugee in an airstrike.

Serge has the right stuff, and the wrong stuff, and some stuff that will peel the enamel of your teeth and make your hair stand up. And thats why hes a pilot. God bless aviators.

Paul Carter, author of Dont Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs...
She Thinks Im a Piano Player in a Whorehouse

Authors note:All of the events and people described in this book are real.However, some names, dates and locations have been changed to protect theanonymity of those involved.

First published in 2012

Copyright Mac Tucker 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin
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83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
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Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available
from the National Library of Australia www.trove.nla.gov.au

ISBN 978 1 74331 019 9

Maps by Darian Causby
Set in 12/17 pt Minion Pro by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To JPA true gentleman, mentor, friend and leader;
and my fellow brothers in arms with whom I have served.
YKYMF!

Contents

WHY DID I write this book? A number of reasons I guessalthough Im unsure of the relevant weighting on each of them. Six years ago, when I first started writing, I think it was largely to prevent my brain atrophying as I watched a jumbos autopilot fly me around the world while fantasising that I was still a pilot. For those of you who find this statement hard to understand, I hope this book provides you with some insight as to why most fighter pilots detest their airline jobs as they become enslaved to their wallets.

As a fighter pilot I always felt guilty about the undeserved notoriety attached to the job. From the first time a girl said to me, Yeah, right, when I told her what I did for a job, until now where I am still considered, in ever decreasingly small circles, some sort of superhuman for what I did ten years agothanks, Grandma. I hope this book lifts the veil on the profession and shows it for what it truly is rather than the Hollywood version. We never played half-naked volleyball like Maverick and Goose in Top Gunalthough streaking on Friday nights was fairly common.

I hope I have provided an honest account of one of the best jobs on, and off, the planet. Im constantly being asked what it was like, and can I have a chat to Johnny who is thinking of joining the air force. The intricacies of the job make it hard to describe in any way that does it justice; the personalities, the psychology, the risk, the sacrifice and the rewards. It is a complex mosaic that cannot easily be answered at a dinner party without railroading the conversation for the entire eveningsomething fighter pilots are actually very good at doing... especially if their hands are not tied together.

This is probably the number-one reason that there arent more books on fighter flyingit is almost impossible to describe the dynamics without using both your hands, your watch, two stubbies and a couple of beer coasters. This limitation is also why I have minimised the number of flying sequences throughout the book and maximised the fart lighting and beer swilling.

I am proud of what I achieved within this elite organisation and the men I served alongside. It is not a force that is easily used in the villages of Afghanistan, nor in the streets of Baghdad. It is an incredibly expensive insurance policy against a worst-case national defence scenariowhich is why its so easily handballed around during peacetime budget estimates. It is not a force that can be used to win hearts and minds, even though Western nations are still trying. It is a force to be unleashed when your country is backed against a wall and the politicians no longer care about their next election cycle. This is the mentality of those who fly fightersthe majority take it very seriously and dedicate their all to the cause. Unfortunately for Australia, few fighter pilots make it into senior military positions due to their uncompromising dedication to the missionsomething most senior officers trade in for a comfortable life and fat pension.

While fighter pilots are some of our nations most capable individuals, they are also fallible and stupid like any other human being; they get scared, make mistakes, embarrass themselves and get paper cuts on their arse. I have tried to show the human side to fighter flying as much as shooting MiGs and dropping bombs.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the book.

Serge

The GOAT
Glossary Of
Acronyms and Terms

1FTS No. 1 Flying Training Schoolbasic flying training which was conducted on the CT-4 air trainer at RAAF Base Point Cook, Victoria

2FTS No. 2 Flying Training Schooladvanced flying training which was conducted on the Macchi MB-326H jet trainer at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia

81 Wing the entire operational fighter force of the RAAF consisting of No. 3, No. 75 and No. 77 Squadrons

AA-11 Russian heat-seeking missilecodenamed Archer

AC-130 C-130 Hercules that shoots three big guns sidewards... the Talibans worst nightmare worst nightmare

AAR air-to-air refuellingor plugging

ADF Australian Defence Force

ADFA Australian Defence Force Academy. Where ACWACS (Academy Wackers) go to get a degree before starting pilots course

ADI attitude display indicator... your best friend when flying supersonic at low level in a thunderstorm at night

AGL above ground levelthe most important number in the HUD when flying near the ground; although most low flying is done with eyeballs alone

AIM-7 F-18 semi-active radarguided missilealso known as the Sparrow; was replaced by the AMRAAM in the late 90s

AIM-9 F-18 heat-seeking missilealso known as the Sidewinder due to the path flown by early versions of this missile