Vulture's Row

Rear Admiral Paul T. Gillcrist: Vulture's Row Told in anecdotal form, Vulture's Row tells of a fascinating story about an important period covering nearly one half of the entire history of U.S. naval aviation. "Vulture's Row" is and area dubbed by naval flyers on the island superstructure of an aircraft carrier where pilots can overlook carrier landings on the deck below. This new book by acclaimed author Paul Gillcrist is a series of true stories about U.S. Navy carrier aviation from the perspective of a Navy pilot who spent thirty-three years directly involved in that exciting profession. The book begins with a series of vignettes in the period of the mid-1950s when the U.S. Navy introduced swept wing, jet powered fighters into the aircraft carrier navy - flying from straight-deck carriers whose flight decks were made of teak wood. The thread of stories follows the author's career in chronological sequence, in various venues throughout the Navy. There are accounts from his first carrier deployment to the western Pacific, followed by events as a weapons delivery instructor at FAGU - the predecessor to Top Gun in El Centro, California. Some of his experiences as a Navy pilot are recorded in a section  about Patuxent River, Maryland, the Navy's test center. Additional episodes include an unforgettable wing-walking flight, flying Japanese Zeroes in the movie TORA! TORA! TORA!, and the author's subsequent tour of duty in the Pentagon conducting proficiency flights from our nation's capital. There are also accounts about combat missions over Vietnam and the author's experiences in both wing commander jobs, flying the F-4 Phantom II and the F-14 Tomcat. The last story is about his two flights, as a fifty-two year old Admiral, in the controversial F-20 Tigershark. These vignettes combine humor, hair-raising excitement and tragedy while the author pursued a long career as a carrier pilot. Webmaster's Notes:   More Information: Feet Wet - Reflections of a Carrier Pilot Home Latest Topic | Air Warfare | Conferences/Air Shows | Fighter Tactics | Fighter Aircraft | Missiles | Fighter Aviation Topic | Fighter History | Warbirds | Magazines | Current News | Links | Physiology | Photo Gallery | Bibliography | SIIVET - Wings | What's New J Lindberg. Copyright © 1997-2006 Fighter Tactics Academy. All rights reserved. Revised: tammikuu 04, 2006.