The F-15C Eagle Fighter Plane is a Mean Machine!

I was privilege to be a part of the acquisition team which bought the F-15 Eagle for the United States Air Force (USAF).  From 1972 until 1974, I was a member of the acquisition and responsible for providing technical training and training equipment to train Air Force maintenance personnel on how to provide preventative maintenance and to repair unserviceable items on and off the airplane.

Then in the period 1977 to1981, I served as a senior maintenance officer at Bitburg Air Base in Germany supervising those valiant men and women who serviced, repaired and loaded missiles and ammo on the F-15.  While there, the wing transferred its F-15 A and B models for F-15 C and D models while still maintaining our defense posture to counter the Soviet threat.

The Soviet Union sought the counter the threat posed by the F-15 by designing, building and deploying the SU-27 Flanker (NATO designation).  Many air experts felt that the SU=27 Flanker was superior to the F-15 . . . but do not ever tell an Eagle Driver that. 

The F-15 acquitted itself well during both of the conflicts with Iraq and after the First Gulf War was the primary force performing Combat Air Patrol. (CAP).    

It is a well-known fact that to avoid fighting, many of Saddam Hussein's pilots flew their Soviet era planes to Iran.

My imagination wondered one day what would happened, with tensions mounting between the US and Iran, if Iran tried to take on the F-15 during a CAP patrol over Iraq. 

Would skill or technology prevail?

If I have piqued your interest, here are some links to my 99 Cent novella.

Amazon Kindle US:    http://tinyurl.com/7oqwv3n

 Amazon Kindle UK:    http://urlcut.me/aFZ

Barnes and Noble NOOK:  http://tinyurl.com/758ubdw

Harry Miles Against Eight Iranian Fighter Jets

Harry Miles, ace F-15 fighter pilot in the mother of all air-to-air battles against 8 Iranian fighters. . . . We pick up Harry in the midst of the air battle.

"Fox 1 on Flanker number 1."

Harry's throat was on fire.  He felt his breath come in spurts.  Even though he had selected 100% oxygen a few minutes ago, it didn't seem to help. Seconds ticked by like hours.

"Number 2 is a splash.  Two bogies headed your way supersonic. "

The third AWACS controller chimed in to advise Harry he had control of the missile,

Harry was too busy to hear.

He was out of AMRAAM missiles! 

Do I go in with the Sidewinders or exit? No, I’m not running!

Harry was trying to calculate when he might be in Sidewinder range when missile warning tones filled his ear.  He looked down at his cockpit display and saw 3 air-to-air missiles headed his way.  Both of the remaining Flankers had gotten within launch range.

Holy shit!

Harry jammed his stick forward and pulled his airplane down and to the right as he began evasive maneuvers to get away from the danger.  He managed to evade two of them but he didn't know if he was going to lose the third.

He had pushed the stick forward again and started to climb but it didn't seem to do any good.  His throat constricted and tightened.  Harry had tunnel vision and things were going black.  It felt like his consciousness was jammed into a cone with the exterior sides at 45 degrees angles and some giant force was pushing the sides together closing the gap of consciousness.  It seemed there were these two giant hands pushing at the edges of his mind pinching it and closing it.  The fear crept in.  His world spun.  Normally, he could handle the g-forces that all the F-15 pilots dealt with on a daily basis.  Lack of oxygen caused everything to turn gray.

Damn. Everything's spinning. Everything is going black. Did I get hit?

His body jerked in a convulsive spasm and when he did so, his hands pulled back on the throttle.  With the lack of thrust, his plane hit that combination of forces that all pilots dreaded. His airplane began to spin and gyrate in a 360-degree circle on a horizontal axis while careening down as gravity worked its inexorable force.  Known as a "flat spin," most pilots considered it the kiss of death.  The textbook answer requires the pilot to eject as soon as possible for there was no recovery.

Harry didn't consider ejecting.  He wasn't even aware his plane had gone into the "flat spin."  Lack of oxygen had caused Harry to black out."

This is one scene from the novella, HARRY'S WAR.

Amazon Kindle US:    http://tinyurl.com/7oqwv3n

 Amazon Kindle UK:    http://urlcut.me/aFZ

Barnes and Noble NOOK:  http://tinyurl.com/758ubdw

Who is that Masked Man?

Harry Miles is a medically retired fighter pilot who lives near San Antonio, Texas.  Like all of us, he battles complex questions in his life.

Harry received quite a bit of notoriety concerning his exploits during an air battle in the skies over Iraq. During that air battle, Harry found himself in the battle of a lifetime.  There he was, at 35,000 feet above ground level, facing not one but eight SU-27 Soviet-era flanker aircraft piloted by Iranian pilots.  He did receive some help from a nearby Air Warning and Control Systems aircraft in the area, but pilots all over the world refer to Harry in hushed tones as one of the great fighter pilots in the post 9/11 era.  Whenever pilots talk about great air battles, the subject of Harry's conflict with the Iranian fighters arises.


If they know, many would be surprised at Harry's battles with his own confidence and his feelings of unworthiness.


Now he finds himself in the San Antonio, Texas working as a freelance private detective.  It seems unusual to most of the people who know Harry that he choose to be a Private Eye because of certain restrictions the State of Texas placed on his Private Investigators license.   Restrictions that no self-respecting investigator would allow.

There were some major aircraft manufacturers who wanted Harry to work for them because of his exploits over Iraq.  Harry has politely declined those offers.  

Harry works out of his house in Universal City, Texas and spends a major portion of his time battling demons. 


Harry is hard at work though doing research and planning a presentation which will give him his first big case.  If successful, Harry stands to receive a very large fee and provide victims of a killer justice. 

A novella, "Harry's War"  explains Harry's air battle, the aftermath, and his own personal fall from grace.

Who is that Masked Man?  What will he do next?

Many people are asking that question, particularly fighter pilots in the RAF.

To learn about his background, you can download "Harry's War" by Ed Benjamin at all eBooksellrs.

Here is the Amazon Kindle link for the US market:  http://tinyurl.com/7oqwv3n

Here is the link for Amazon.UK.Kindle:  http://urlcut.me/aFZ