Below left to right:
An instructor
taxies out from
the TOPGUN line
for a morning 1-v-1
mission against a
student.
TOPGUN
instructors can
all walk to the
fl ight line from
the NAWDC
building via the
maintainer’s
offi ce. Student
aircraft are
typically operated
from the Air Wing
Fallon fl ight line.25-30 ights for a TOPGUN instructor to
complete. Where students can watch
their tapes post- ight, before drawing the
ghts on a whiteboard during the debrief,
the instructors can’t. It’s all down to what
notes they can take down during the ght
and their overall ability to mentally recall
speci cs. Whole sorties can be spent at
7.5g looking back over their shoulders
but they still have to demonstrate perfect
recall. I remember I ew all ve days of
the week to pass defensive BFM. By Friday
night I couldn’t move my neck but at least
I’d passed! E ectively, the main course is
akin to a masters’ degree, but becoming
an instructor is like getting a doctorate
and will generally take two years for an
instructor to be fully quali ed in every
phase of the course.’Talking about the path involved in
becoming a TOPGUN SME, he adds,
‘The ‘murder board’ is the most stressful
thing I’ve undertaken, including
taking a squadron into combat. You
have eight ‘pre-boards’ to get you
completely ready; then the ‘murder
board’ is conducted in front of the entire
TOPGUN sta .’
It’s a complex a air with every
detail catered for, including food and
refreshments provided by the outgoing
SME. The new SME must present to
upwards of 35 experts, who are all
poised with pen in hand, just waiting
for the slightest error. Papioanu says, ‘It’s
about passion, personality and talent. If
you have the rst two, you can crack the
last element with sheer hard work.’In 2020, TOPGUN expects to execute its
rst F-35C course and the NAWDC teams
have started experimenting with visiting
Lightnings from VFA-101. The navy has
been thinking ahead — it has sta ed
the new F-35 community heavily with
patch-wearers. Papaioanu acknowledges
that the F-35 ‘will herald a big change
in the way TOPGUN and the navy does
business.’ It’s all part of the evolution of
this incredible training center, whose
sole purpose is to ensure that the US
Navy strike ghter community stays at
the top of its game.Acknowledgements: The author wishes to
thank CDR Andrew Mariner, CDR Christopher
Papaioanu, LT Joe Rice, Zip Upham, the
Nevada Air National Guard and all at NAWDC.http://www.combataircraft.net // September 2018 67
60-67 Supp_TOPGUN Today C.indd 67 19/07/2018 14:13