F-15 pilots are good at what they do, but I've pummeled too many of them in my life to think they're any better at ANY air-to-air mission than F-16s. The only real advantage (and it's a significant advantage!) I've seen over the years is more missiles to chuck down range.

Of course, now that I'm a Raptor pilot, I'm supposed to scoff everyone. So consider yourselves scoffed!

Good luck with the recovery, JJ.

[By the way, bugging out at 330 knots and 30 feet AGL is a very valid method of departing a hot zone. ]

JJ, why didn't you say "330 kts, 30 feet AGL, inverted, checking six, smoking a camel and writing down my 9 line brief? BTW...that's the good old days. With pulse doppler and AESA radars and the new air-air missles out there, hiding in the ground clutter "no workie any more". You might as well be an MD-11 at 300 kts and 300 feet.