TOPGUN Pilot Explains Buzzing the Tower | Mike Drop #166 Clip - Top Gun Instructor Jack Stewart

About this video

Jack Stewart, a former F/A-18 pilot and Top Gun instructor, discusses his naval aviation career with Mike Ritland. Stewart recounts buzzing the tower (with permission), his carrier landing performance as a student, and being assigned to F-18s instead of F-14s. He describes the intense catapult launch system that accelerates aircraft to over 100 knots in approximately 120 feet, and shares details about the winging ceremony where fellow pilots would punch wings into new aviators’ chests.

Key takeaways

• Stewart explains that pilots can buzz the tower if they ask for permission first, but doing so without approval would result in termination.
• Stewart states he was assigned F-18s instead of F-14s because F-14 pilots needed to demonstrate superior carrier landing skills as students, which he felt he had not achieved.
• Stewart describes the catapult launch system as accelerating aircraft to over 100 knots in roughly 120 feet, with a hold-back fitting that breaks at full power to release the plane.
• Ritland recounts his experience on the USS Constellation observing F-18 operations and describes the landing noise as so loud it almost made him throw up.

Episode details: published December 26, 2023 · 19.5K views · 8:04 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

← Previous: Top Gun Fighter Pilot Instructor Jack Stewart Part One · Next: Dog Training Q&A with Navy SEAL Teamdog Founder Mike Ritland →

All Mike Ritland videos · Mike Ritland profile · Mike Drop (official site)