Tomcat Rio: A Topgun Instructor on the F-14 Tomcat and the Heroic Naval Aviators Who Flew It

by Dave Baranek

Overview

From Topgun to Squadron Command 

You’re in the cockpit of the legendary F-14 Tomcat fighter, blazing along at twice the speed of sound seven miles above the ocean and the carrier that hurled you off its deck. You’re practicing dogfighting with “aggressors,” guys on your side flying F-16s. You’re patrolling the tense skies above Iraq, and with the push of a button you can launch the 100-mile Phoenix missile that can blow a foe to scrap before you even see him. You are an expert in fighter tactics and aircraft carrier operations, and it all leads to your command of an F-14 fighter squadron of more than three hundred people.

Sounds like a week’s worth of daydreams, but it’s all real-life in the career of Dave “Bio” Baranek, and he shares it with you in the exciting, superbly crafted new book, Tomcat Rio. Dave – callsign “Bio” – pulled his readers into the exciting world of the F-14 and the Navy’s TOPGUN program with his popular books Topgun Days and Before Topgun Days. Now he’s back with the rest of the story, as he reaches the top level of expertise and proves it, not just in graded competitions but also where it counts, where you shoot at them and they shoot at you.

Dave also shares the challenges he faced. A deadly foe called complacency. Learning a whole new mission late in his career. The unexpected trials that come with leading a squadron in the dynamic environment of Naval Aviation. This third volume is full of adventures, lessons, and inspiration. If you are a casual reader, you’ll turn the last page as a dedicated Tomcat fan.

To make it all even more real, Tomcat Rio includes dozens of Bio’s best and most acclaimed photos. Photographer George Hall hailed one shot as “one of the best Tomcat photos ever taken.”

In words and pictures, Bio immerses you in rich detail. He pipes you aboard as a member of an F-14 squadron. You share the camaraderie of Type A personalities. You plan risky missions, going toe-to-toe against America’s most volatile foes. You can almost smell the pungent jet exhaust, almost feel the gut-wrenching G’s of a dogfight, as Tomcat Rio pitches you into the thick of it as only Bio can tell it. Strap in! You’re going for one fantastic ride.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510748224
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	08/25/2020
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,043,495
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Dave “Bio” Baranek is the author of Topgun Days and Before Topgun Days. He enjoyed a successful and satisfying twenty-year career in the United States Navy, starting with assignments to F-14 Tomcat squadrons and the elite Topgun training program, and on to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the US 7th Fleet. Baranek retired from the Navy in 1999 and is now a defense contractor. He is married and lives in Satellite Beach, Florida. Learn more about Dave Baranek at www.TopgunBio.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1 1,000-Pound Missile 1

2 Back to the Big Fighter (I Have a Radar Again!) 5

Intel Brief: The Tomcat Community, 1987 11

3 Joining the Bullets 13

4 Supersonic in the Air and on the Ground 17

Intel Brief: Callsigns 21

5 "We're Complacent!" 23

6 Operation Earnest Will 29

Intel Brief: "Monkey" 33

7 Flying the Strait 35

8 Going off the Line 39

9 FNG 41

10 The Second Half - It's Not Over Till It's Over 45

11 Sunsets on the Fantail 51

12 Hello, Blackbird 55

13 Changes on the Ground and in the Air 59

Intel Brief; Air-to-Air Missile Comparison-1987 63

14 There are Two Fs in FFARP 65

15 Summertime at Miramar 71

16 Taking the Gloves Off 75

17 Challenges and Changes 81

18 Once More across the Pacific 85

Intel Brief: Flight Deck Cycle and the Fuel Ladder 89

19 Crystal Blue Cones of Flame, Fifty Feet Long 91

20 Leaving So Soon? 95

21 Farewell to Fightertown 101

22 Becoming a PowerPoint Ranger 105

23 The Fighting Checkmates 111

Intel Brief: Facts and Opinions on the New Squadron Environment 117

Intel Brief: The 569 Bulkhead Affair and LANTIRN 119

24 Checkmate One 121

25 Clawing Our Way Back 125

Intel Brief: Operation Southern Watch 129

26 Green Ink 131

27 Snapshots from the Tip of the Spear 135

28 Triumphant Return 139

29 I Stand Relieved 143

30 Epilogue 147

Appendix: Final Remarks to VF-211 at Quarters, Aug 6, 1998 149

Glossary 151

Acknowledgments 161