How times have changed.
There are times when NSAWC/TopGun now makes recruiting trips to the different bases to try and lure some people to Fallon. They talk up the hunting, fishing, and camping opportunities. I sat behind one such future TopGun IP and asked him when he went through the course (I thought he might know some of my buddies), and found out that he had not yet even been through the course! :eek:

I had a chance to fly with the Blues when I was an RAG IP and we were det'ing at their winter practice home. It is something that I could do for a month or three, but like Hacker said - I joined the Corps to fly gray jets, not Blue ones. I even like formation - for coming into the break - but not all day, every day; plus they shake hands too much and I don't like the attention/public affairs aspect that comes with the job. I rather sit at my static and watch the world go by. Btw - I think some of the best flying that I saw during the ride-along was away from show center. Rejoins happen in a whole other dimension!:D

navigatro - you could have lined up every Blue on that team and he would have been the last one I would have picked for the guy who would have gotten into trouble like that. Former RP and squadronmate of mine. If you know where he has ended up - drop me a PM.

USMCFLYR

Yeah, Miramar has a touch more to offer than Fallon. I think there was no follow on orders commitment to Topgun (maybe even Blues) orders until the mid-90s and that might have begun the change, with the move to Fallon finishing it off. Like the Blues, once you learn what it entails, Topgun IP sounds like a job that's much cooler to say you do it than actually do it, at least for me (not that it mattered). Still hard to believe how far it's come (fallen).

Well said.

On another note, I know of a Marine who was both a Blue Angel and Topgun IP. Don't know if he's the only one to do both.

I just returned from a 5 day demo trip. I am a full up combat pilot and returned from deployment 1 month ago. Being a demo guy is a true honor and it's not as easy as it looks. Long days and a lot of people watching exactly what you do, say and how you look and carry yourself. I love it because it allows me to share what the Air Force does with the public. It is a "good deal" and not east to get. Tons of fun too. Its a huge recruiting tool for the AF. Not only for Pilots but enlisted too.

+1. The few that I knew personally over the years were all great guys, worked their butts off, knew how lucky they were to have been chosen for the team, and knew that within a few years they'd be right back in the fleet with the rest of us.

I know a guy who got sent to his first non-flying job after the Blues...he hated it so much he punched and parleyed his Blues notoriety into a high-end financial planner job.

The current Boss (Boss McWherter) and former Boss (Foley) were Top Gun IPs (Boss Mannix was Weapons School Instructor/Top Gun grad). I dont know many 'Navy' Blues in the diamond ('Pepper' McCoy comes to mind) who were Top Gun Grads mostly because big Navy says no to the detailers in that if they send a Top Gun grad to the NFDS as a JO they lose the ability to get a squadron training officer tour out of them. Not sure about the Marines that have been in the Diamond seems to me that most Marine FRS IPs used to be MAWTS/Top Gun grads that is until the FRS flood gates opened up to Marines(106).

I thought all demos except the Craptor were shut down?

How many are there now?
There were only 4-5 including the XO during my tours there.

USMCFLYR

Agree with all you guys about the Blues. Know quite a few current and former Blues and all were real good dudes.

PM sent.

That 4-5 also always included the MATSG staff and LSO school Marine if it was a Marine. For years it was 2 USMC CORE IP(Normally MAWTS/TG grads) at 106 with a Marine XO and MATSG CO/XO. Now there are 8-10 last I counted. A definite plus up. I think the premise had to do with what the squadron was putting out to the fleet in terms of Marine Cat I RPs vs what it was staffed to support in comparison to Navy manning at VMFAT-101 and navy throughput.