Eye of the Viper: The Making of an F-16 Pilot

by Peter Aleshire

Hand-picked, pressure-tested, and full of astronaut gung ho, the young pilots of Eye of the Viper are poised for the toughest assignment of their the exhaustive six-month training course at Arizona''s Luke Air Force Base, at a cost of $2 million each. Luke, the world''s largest fighter wing, is the only F-16 fighter training base in the United States, and each year it produces one thousand pilots who will fly the F-16 from Korea to Afghanistan to Iraq.But being among the elite pilots who are selected for the course is by no means a guarantee that they will earn the right to fly the F-16, perhaps the most agile jet fighter ever sent into combat. Only a few select individuals will have what it takes. Award-winning journalist Peter Aleshire, given unprecedented access to the pilots and teachers at Luke, provides a full blast of the rigors and intensity of the course--the personalities, the incredible machines, the irreverence, the bravado, and the toughness, not only of the hand-picked students seeking a place in the warrior subculture, but of the veteran pilots who must teach them how to stay alive. Readers will quickly come to understand the extraordinary mental and physical demands on a modern pilot--and the incredible joy and sense of freedom that makes most F-16 pilots describe their single-engine, weapons-laden, needle-nosed jet in terms that sound more like true love or helpless addiction than a relationship with a mere airplane. Eye of the Viper is a frank, ambitious, eminently entertaining look at the ambitions, fears, frailties, and courage that make or break the young pilots at the exquisitely sensitive controls of a $35-million jet.

Genres: Military Fiction, Aviation, History, War

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Michael Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean we all know why I read this🤷🏽‍♂️
Did not disappoint.

[Julie Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A past love of mine was one of the pilots/flight instructors interviewed by Aleshire. I remembered his time at Luke AFB well but lost track of him after he was sent to Korea. It was nice to read that he has made a good life for himself as I knew he would. Aleshire effectively portrayed his intelligence, talent, charisma, and personality well. Although a bit of a choppy read, the author does a fine job portraying the life, commitment, and dedication of a pilot.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great perspective into what goes into flight training. Content is good, writing style a little difficult to follow at times. I appreciated it as the mother of a pilot.

[Ben Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book but I got lost in two of the chapters.