Hoppy’s F-100 Flight – Still Flying High

“I’m still on cloud nine because of my ride in the F-100 last September 19th.  As I laid awake in bed this morning at about 0400 I suddenly realized why…… it’s that damned airplane. A supersonic, high performance jet, beautiful in design, operational only about 10 years after WW II, still with WW II instruments that took off and landed almost twice as fast as any WW II fighter, was expected to be flown in all kinds of bad weather, over oceans, air refueling, in combat, dropping WW II ordnance, day or night, entertained and impressed millions of Thunderbird watchers, sat alert with nuclear bombs with a plan to deliver it at the top of an immelmann  and was flown by one shit hot guy who had unbelievable talent to perform all this. That airplane is what defines us as a very special bunch of men. That airplane is the glue that bonds us together as the Super Sabre Society. We were and maybe still are the best fighter pilots the Air Force ever had. We were the computer, the navigator, the engineer, the gunner, the bombardier, the guy with lightning fast reflexes that made all the decisions, flew with overlapped wings to keep sight of lead from takeoff to landing, trusted each other with our lives, worked hard and played hard, had beautiful wives that loved us for better or worse and were the pride of the Air Force. This plane defines us as the best of our time and without it our lives and memories would be missing that electric feeling of pride that we feel when we think back of our days in the F-100. My ride reminded me of who we are and what we flew. We are the F-100 pilots. We were the best.”

Hoppy