Viper Pilot

The Autobiography of One of America's Most Decorated Combat Pilots

De: Dan Hampton

Narrado por: John Pruden

“Viper Pilot is fantastic….A great read!”
—Dale Brown, former USAF Captain and New York Times bestselling author of A Time for Patriots

Action-packed and breathtakingly authentic, Viper Pilot is the electrifying memoir of one of the most decorated F-16 pilots in American history: U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hampton, who served for twenty years, flying missions in the Iraq War, the Kosovo conflict, and the first Gulf War. Both a rare look into the elite world of fighter pilots and a thrilling first-person account of contemporary air combat, Viper Pilot soars—a true story of courage, skill, and commitment that will thrill U.S. Special Forces buffs, aviation and military history aficionados, and fans of the novels of Tom Clancy and Dale Brown.

Great Military Listen.

I sat on this for most of the summer but once I started it, I couldnt turn it off. Makes me proud to say my tax dollars went to support the Wild Weasels. Thank You Lt. Col. Hampton for your service to our country.

F-16 Action

This audio book was exactly what I was looking for. The story and the performance were very good. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the aerial combat. Well worth the time.

Best aviation read in a very long time.

Excellency at it's best in the last 20 years I've been flying or reading of it, this book is defiantly on my all time top 10.

Pilot Porn, Plane and Simple

An absolutely wonderful performance of a great book. Any aviation enthusiast or fighter pilot-wannabe will find themselves more than satisfied with this one.

The only knock against it is the "non action" portions can be jarringly tedious if you're not already a bit of a military/flight nerd.

Wow!

Best narrator ever. hands down. story is incredible as well, one of the best audio books out there.

Excellent book

What did you love best about Viper Pilot?

As an F16 crew chief I loved the story

What did you like best about this story?

His indepth look at the missions

Which scene was your favorite?

really... All of them, they were all very interesting

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but we did listen to it while travelling and it was wonderful

Excellent insights on many topics.

Excellent insights of being a Viper pilot.

And I loved the tidbit that they partially got that name to looking like the Vipers from Battlestar Galactica. I'm a geek for that show, especially growing up with the original so I like that fact!

Excellently told story of how the USAF has changes historically. Learning about the aircraft. Flying in a passenger jet does not give you the perspective of the G-forces, speed, distance, and maneuverability of a jet fighter. This was the best reality I have ever read/heard of what it's truly like.

I read some of the negative reviews.
Yes some swearing. I don't like it personally so wondered. it was not abundant. it had its place. Only 1 story really referred to F... a few times.
Someone says he picks on the French. He does but rarely and historically they really didn't excel militarily in many instances. To focus on these two items you are obviously missing out on the rest of the book.

First of all, he is highly intelligent. When you hear about every single test, preparation, flight knowledge, contingency, maintenance and equipment understanding that a pilot needs with the combat and training skills too - you will realize this.

To be of his caliber and successful you have to be smart. And to face "the elephant" ie face death and your mortality, you have to be a strong personality and a bit cocky. Being a soldier is the highest form of patriotism. I commend him. His bravery. And his service. (And no due to a birth hearing impairment I could never enlist. Not for lack of trying. So don't assume I'm saying so out of solidarity. )

I highly recommend this for a look of what it's like for a fighter pilot and some historical information too.

excellent listen

gives a point of view I could only hope to have had. ALWAYS loved the F16 growing up and this was just magical and the little laughs given were great as well

lively & interesting

awesome book giving a perspective from modern ariel combat that if never really gotten a glimpse of i wouldn't mind if it went over a few other missions too, but I spose Hampton covered the more interesting ones

Lots of detail, superb narration

The story is very well written and interesting with plenty technical detail, lingo, humor and both human an political reflection.
John Pruden's narration deserves standing ovations.
It just could not have been a better man for the job than him.