F-15 Eagle & Testing Typhoon | w/ Craig Penrice

Craig Penrice talks about flying the EE Lightning, F-15A-D on his USAF exchange tour, and testing the Eurofighter Typhoon.
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[@ebenezer1690]

As an American I say, thank you for your time, expertise and professionalism.Long live the Queen, long live our friendship.

[@MrTiti]

that did not last long

[@aderhoney8887]

I served as an armourer on 11Sqn 84-88 and fitted Craig's ejection seat!! My wife (also an armourer) had just bay-serviced it! Family business or what?

[@paulloveless9180]

Wow what a story! Perhaps you can answer a question I've always had: if a pilot accidentally ejected while stationary on the ground... How difficult and what would it involve to fit a new ejection seat? Is it as simple as sliding a new seat down on some rails and plugging some connectors in? Thanks!

[@graysonvirtue4058]

What an awesome bloke. Besides having flown a small airforce, he also adopted three kids

[@mladenivanzlatar5440]

He needs to stop helping the Chinese ! !!!!

[@patrickflohe7427]

@@mladenivanzlatar5440 True.

[@LRRPFco52]

2 ejections, Lightning, Hunter, T-38A, T-2, F-15, F-14, F-16, Hornet, P-51, Typhoon, MiG-29... that's a blessed career if I ever heard of one.

[@DD-sw1dd]

Wow

[@terryboyer1342]

But he didn't get to shoot the A-10s cannon so meh. :)

[@nicholasdavies8795]

Absolutely ! This pilot knew his stuff and yet comes across like a chap you could have a great conversation with in any pub. No airs and graces and loved his job . Great interview !

[@terryboyer1342]

@Daniel Burke WTF is wrong with you? I wasn't in ant way comparing him to an A-10 pilot. And I wasn't disrespecting him in any way either! In previous vids I recall hearing RAF pilots on exchange duty with the USAF expressing regret that never got to fly the A-10 just for experience of shooting the cannon. And if you had any discernment you would have noticed I deliberately put a smiley face at the end to indicate it was all in fun with no disrespect to Mr. Penrice. May I suggest you get off your high horse get a life and quit correcting and berating other people for no reason? Sheesh!

[@terryboyer1342]

@Daniel Burke I assure you it was purely meant as humor. Hence the :) immediately afterwards. I'm sorry our concepts s of humor differ but I don't consider it a boo-boo.

[@thetreblerebel]

I for one recognize the pride the British Electric Lightning was for the English. It was so fast, and was so unique and beautiful.

[@benaskew9566]

When it wasn't having technical failures...

[@toecutter6968]

@@benaskew9566 When will people like you recognise that when something is cutting edge it will inevitably have technical issues?.............................

[@autopathos]

You just have to love the way he plays down everything, his very humble experience flying hundreds and hundreds of hours on almost everything that mattered back in his day and the amazing strokes of luck he had in his career including the ones that saved his life. I hope there never is an RAF without Scots because that'd be a tragedy.

[@philbrooks2970]

I did not know Craig personally, but in the mid-1980s I was a Fighter Control officer at RAF Staxton Wold, near Scarborough and control of the Lightnings was our bread and butter. I was controlling Craig when he banged out. He also mentioned intercepting a Learjet which had depressurised, similar to the Payne Stewart incident, the crew believed to be dead through hypoxia. I was on duty at RAF Boulmer that day, although not controlling the QRA and it was the only time that I was aware of orders being passed to shoot down an aircraft if it started to fall out of the sky over the UK mainland. I understand that it ran out of fuel over the North Atlantic.

[@dannymiester5825]

Love the way he just drops in at the end that he's flown a mig 29. What a career. Legend

[@Thetequilashooter1]

What an aircraft stud. I could listen to this guy for hours. As an American, it sure is good having the U.K. as an ally, and having such skilled pilots and amazing aircraft on our side.

[@therocinante3443]

Agreed, friend. The Brits are as(more?) Competent military men. I wish we were closer honestly.

[@nickmazz9345]

Despite the anti anti rhetoric both countries benefit from an historical and tech relationship that gives both countries an edge envied by all other counties I think we loose sight of that silly bickering. No two countries have been closer.

[@patrickflohe7427]

Agreed.

[@louissanderson719]

I remember watching him on discovery channels Extreme Machines.

[@luisangelperez9469]

Good ol US-A and US-B

[@ilejovcevski79]

Tomcats. Eagles, Vipers, Bugs, Lightnings, Typhoons.....man, this guy flew everything worth flying back in the day! It'd be a dream just to see that many up close, let alone fly them :D

[@bjjace1]

What an a amazing career. The USAF hit the lottery getting this guy for a time. This channel is hitting the aviation lottery.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thank you!

[@matthayward7889]

What a career!

[@therocinante3443]

This gentleman... A one of a kind. I look up to him the same way I look up to astronauts.

[@GaryDoctor1]

How did I miss this amazing interview. What a career and fab array of Aircraft. Lightning, F15 and Tyhoon. Wow!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@mike.47]

My father was a surgeon at RAF Ely and I was a patient there, I remember a pilot being brought into my ward who had broken bones after ejecting from his aircraft. Who knows, it may have been Craig.

[@Thetequilashooter1]

Thanks to the UK for being such a great friend through the years. Like people, the USA and UK have occasional differences, but in the end both can count on the other when needed.

[@supercat380]

This pilot is another worthy candidate for the skilled aviators hall of fame!

[@andykewley5416]

"Well, this isn't going to end well".... typical RAF pilot understatement! :D

[@tsangarisjohn]

His story needs to be made into a movie! Awesome dude!

[@neilrobinson5115]

Thanks Craig,what a career,I was in hospital with a graduate of The Test Pilot School at Boscombe Down,Squ Ldr Peter Collins,he’d flown 119 different types of aircraft during his career including Dassault Rafale,I bet Craig knew Peter,Both great aviators.

[@P-J-W-777]

It’s awesome that the UK and US are such great friends and partners especially considering past history and yet they are able to work together and in this situation get Mr. Penrice the training he needed to become the best test pilot he could be while providing the UK with someone who could help them build the best possible versions of their aircraft. They many to build an amazing aircraft as a result. Just goes to show that enemies can become best friends one they get past their egos. It’s great that that same relationship exists with Canada and Australia. Thank you Mr Penrice for your service to both the UK and US. God Bless!

[@iliasstaridas8005]

Hey,I thought I was the only one that his iconic airplane was the buccaneer but this MAN s took me by surprise.awesome career ,respect

[@jimbrown5268]

Thanks for this, seems like a good bloke to have a beer with. On a side note, why on earth are people downvoting this video????

[@realMaverickBuckley]

I can only hope its Australians, Kiwis and Saffas. Being upside and all.

[@thornautical]

the guy has mad skills, much respect.

[@Meowface.]

Holy moly...the list of aircraft this guy has flown is astounding

[@richardwilliams6132]

Look up Capt Eric " Winkle " Brown

[@copee2960]

Amazing man, so humble about his achievements .......could listen to this man talking honestly and from the heart all day, thank you for the upload, fantastic. What a career , just finished reading Captain Eric "winkle" Browns book which is just as breath taking when you consider the aircraft he flew, once again thank you for this upload.

[@Aircrewinterview]

That’s a brilliant book and I would recommend it to any avgeek.

[@secretsquirrel3793]

@@Aircrewinterview Agreed. If Hollywood made his life story into a film most would think it exaggerated beyond belief. They broke the mould after Captain Brown....

[@peterdelaforce2346]

One of the best interviews I’v watched, what an amazing life this guy has had so far, definitely lived some of my dreams.

[@acedrumminman]

I love how he says they let me fly the P-51 as the carrot to keep them interested...flying that WW11 bird is a dream of most of the later generation of aviators...

[@jaybee9269]

Cara Vaggio >> Thought you’d meant World War Eleven there for a minute. (Wow, they sure kept them quiet!)

[@colourwheel20]

Fascinating stories he told, much respect! And all the more interesting due to my tiny role in the Typhoon programme (avionics development at Warton).

[@jamesgrant8289]

This channel has a ridiculously low subscriber rate for such great content. Anyone who liked this should tell some like minded friends

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers James!

[@mkmdexplorationparanormal5610]

True James,,, it's crazy how under rated the channel is, but since I became a subscriber it has grown and grown incredibly ! I always tell like minded people about the channel, family, friends etc my Dad loves the interviews too, ex British Aerospace aircraft fitter / armourer on experimental aircraft on some of our finest aircraft.

[@julianneale6128]

You're absolutely right, I totally agree!

[@barracuda7018]

Low subscriber?? Lol no wonder because of hugely biased and exaggerated patriotic views...Typical British BS...

[@rogerturner5504]

Fantastic man! You could not make his life story up. A Boys' Own comic hero and an excellent communicator to boot.

[@markmckinnell2204]

Great bloke what a pleasure to watch and what a great career he had for himself 👍

[@SuperOrbit69]

Interesting to hear about the Typhoon performance and climb rate relative to other jets, the F15 in particular. Surprising!

[@zeitgeistx5239]

He's an excellent source to explain how the Typhoon was designed to be an air superiority fighter then later massages into multi role with stand off weapons and other avionics not originally designed into the aircraft. The kind of bullshit you hear from the Typhoon better than F-35 dont need stealth crowd.

[@iatsd]

Not surprising when you think about it: Typhoon was designed ~20 years after the F15. I'd be surprised if it *didn't* out perform the F15 in most respects, allowances for outright size differences withstanding

[@nickc6882]

I’ve always thought of the F15 as the muscle car of fighters. Big plane, big engine, very fast … in a straight line. The f16 is the nimble one.

[@ukredman]

Wow amazing career and story. Thanks for sharing

[@petergorrie1013]

This man and Eric 'Winkle' Brown, wow. Lions Rampant

[@neilsimpson3181]

Excellent interview, well done.

[@mikeross4]

What a great channel this is, I love listening to the experiences of the people who have flown these aircraft.

[@1anre]

Balanced interview. He felt comfortable

[@lameplanet]

What a great interview, fascinating stories. And thanks to the interviewer for just letting the subject talk.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thanks David, great to hear you enjoyed it.

[@KernowekTim]

There's a fine Cornish surname; Penrice. Fascinating interview. Thank you very much!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers Tim.

[@agt155]

Penrice is a village in S.Wales.

[@keepingcalm6469]

This career was made when the western world still held together - we were unbeatable then.

[@jonathandball]

This was amazingly interesting. Thank you for sharing.

[@Magic-Smoke]

Good to hear you Craig. Thanks for keeping the averages down for the rest of us 😀

[@philipbrooks402]

There was a John Macrae who featured in the 1981 BBC documentary Fighter Pilot, who went on to fly Buccaneers. Your cryptic comments re ejection suggest it might be you. If so, would be great to hear of your experiences. Me, I am the Controller who commented below.

[@Magic-Smoke]

Philip Brooks hi, no, that wasn’t me. I was a year or so after him and there was much confusion. I recall collecting my mail at the mess one return from honeymoon and having to explain to my new wife, the contents of a letter that, on opening, was clearly from his girlfriend! 😳

[@philipbrooks402]

John, Very kind of you to reply. If you flew either the Lightning or F-4 in the 1980s, it is highly likely our paths crossed over the ether since I was a Fighter Control Officer. In the mid 1980s was at Staxton Wold, the home of close control. All the best Phil.

[@Magic-Smoke]

Philip Brooks As a mud mover, only once worked with you guys iirc. Best...

[@seanc6754]

Love to hear stories like this from our UK brothers across the pond 🇺🇸🇬🇧 Wow what a amazing career! Getting to fly all those iconic fighters including the P-51 what a treat. Thank you for helping us train our pilots and everything you have done for us we appreciate you

[@davidbarrett1487]

So very interesting, we are so lucky for these wonderful people make sure things work correctly, all the hours of paperwork, the effort put in is staggering. Thankyou SIR. 👍👍👍

[@sirierieott5882]

Great interview with Craig.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thanks :)

[@hangie65]

Excellent interview! I thought it was going to be too long but I found myself watching it through to the end. Well done!

[@Marks-Law]

The man is from my neighborhood... give or take 200 years. I like him already. Thanks, Mike for another great show.

[@mivecsi]

Awesome interview, very interesting. Great to hear from someone who's flown such a variety of amazing aircraft.

[@davidbarrett1487]

Again more interesting stories, I’m glad he survived to recall.👍👍👍

[@csw7861]

Captivating to listen to this guy..... What a legend.... And not a dick when he is talking about what he has done.

[@rons4778]

I felt the excitement when he mentioned the P51 what a great life he has had

[@thetreblerebel]

I love the Royal Navy Buccaneer. Such an awesome Navy interceptor/bomber. Classy like a Jaguar or a MG. Classic British design

[@iantaylor9345]

What an amazing guy... inspirational

[@jeffr6280]

Great questions asked during this interview, and the humility of the British fighter pilots is really refreshing.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thanks Jeff. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@timgosling6189]

What great stories. Those early MB seats with the face blind were notorious for back injury since pulling the handles down can so easily put you in exactly the wrong posture for what comes next. For shame I can't remember if there was a manual separation lever, but it was a long time ago. When I was at A2E2 in around 1990 a Mig-29 arrived from the Former East Germany. The pilot told me he'd ejected several times, all due to catastrophic engine failure. Probably just as well then that Craig didn't make it into the 29 cockpit or he might well have had yet another disparity between numbers of take-offs and landings in his logbook.

[@henryvagincourt]

What an interview.

[@thinebiggest]

Awesome man and interview!

[@simonrichardson5077]

Superb video,thanks guys

[@barrycoomer8137]

Great, interesting interview. What a lucky guy.

[@peterdoonan3144]

Fantastic insight of a military pilot and the vast experience on various aircraft..and not bitter after his flying career curtailed due to his injury. 👍

[@vonpeedler]

The best aviation interview I've ever seen. What a lucky man, and the right man for the job. Fascinating video!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@alanhill5337]

Fascinating interview. Thank you.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers Alan.

[@victornalin]

One of the most impressive pilot careers I've ever heard of. And fun! What a huge bless! And he doesn't seem to be a tiny bit cocky (which would be quite understandable).

[@pilotactor777]

What a career! Great stuff.

[@deadeye4520]

Super interesting and insightful!

[@Gomendio]

Certainly’ what a career and what an interview. I really enjoyed it to the tops. My hat off to this type of air jockeys that are not longer in service. Nowadays is a different breed. One of my favourite interviews so far in AI channel.

[@Aircrewinterview]

He was a very humble guy and I’m glad this is one of your favourites so far.

[@ianstewartaviation2634]

Brilliant interview great down to earth guy

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers

[@charlesdavis7940]

Excellent interview.

[@AC_702]

This guy really motivates you to work hard! Fascinating interview and a fantastic guy!

[@mydogsmylifecircusdogtrainer]

watched it from beginning to end very very interesting

[@alenkerr8533]

What a career legend of the sky flying all these incredible machines

[@Gez492]

What a genuinely interesting and humble guy Craig is. Hugely impressive resume, needs to write a book or have his career video documented. Three of a number of my favourite aircraft feature in my top 10, Hawker Hunter, such an elegant design. English Electric lightning devastating power for its era and beyond and Typhoon under appreciated in my view with all the bluster of US stealth fighters etc. Typhoon has to be one of the very best ever made. As much as I loved watching the lightning go vertical it must be appreciated that the Typhoon is a much more powerful aircraft with an appreciably Higher thrust to weight figure and therefore climb rate. However one top trump stays with the lightning at least 70,000ft, I believe there are stories of Hale getting up to 80,000ft that is just amazing.

[@benlongstaff5536]

Really enjoyed that!

[@alancollard8939]

super guy , not have been near a typhoon but have been under a lightening when it vertical and disappearing from sight , the typhoon must be a real rocket ship

[@mpsymonds1]

Typically British person. Understated. Absolutely enjoyed this chat. Quite a wild career.

[@DaraM73]

My grandfather grew up with James Martin, inventor of the ejector seat, who developed a feel for engineering and an ingrained altruism by attempting to automate farm machinery for his widowed mother.

[@ainsleystones4600]

What a great interview! Many thanks!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers!

[@altaylor3988]

Top notch presentation

[@GentiluomoStraniero]

Much respect. Verical take offs = Dusting the Runway.

[@nervo6321]

Fantastic interview... probably the best i have seen... and i have seen a lot...

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@Steamerbeen]

My god! This is no joke, the amount of aircraft he has piloted. Unreal, glad he teaching our guys.

[@PhilipReeder]

Awesome interview!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers.

[@Kman31ca]

Great interview!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thsnks

[@peimanmoadeli6135]

such down to earth gentleman

[@mikedaugherty53]

It sounds like he attended TPS at NAS Pax River, when talking about becoming a test pilot.

[@Ifoughtpiranhas]

F-15 A/C/E/I/SA models - 103 air-to-air kills - 0 losses. It's easy to understand why he said a formation of Eagles is virtually unstoppable. "King of the castle."

[@LRRPFco52]

104:0

[@MrZockerfreak11]

You could equip the israeli and US air force with Su-27 and Su-30 and you would have literally the same results - pilot training and maintenance will always prevail.

[@LRRPFco52]

@@MrZockerfreak11 Gotta have those AWACS and train the crews to work with them, as well as the EW and drone side of the house. Israelis in 1982 had extensive use of drones, EW, and degradation of Syrian comms. Same with US in 1991 on a massive scale against Saddam. With 5th Gen, the birds are their own AWACS and EW network. Changes everything...

[@IntrusiveThot420]

LRRPFco52 man, the F-35 is so cool. I hear its availability runs pretty crap though, like that’s the big problem they’re fixing. I still laugh when people try to crap on the F-35 though.

[@mostevil1082]

​@@MrZockerfreak11 To an extent, but that's often overstated. The dominance on arrival of the FW190 showed the pilot skill can't overcome much of a performance gap. The F15 was and still is pretty fantastic, but it's never been in an even fight. Those theoretical flankers would still have been fighting inferior types.

[@TheophilusPWildbeest]

Enjoyed that, thanks.

[@pilotactor777]

Great to hear these positive comments on the Typhoon. I knew she was a killer system.

[@mkmdexplorationparanormal5610]

What a great interview! A very engaging guy to listen to, loved his stories and thoughts on the various aircraft he's flown, very interesting, I feel a live Q&A coming up soon 😉 well done for a stonking interview again Mike !

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers buddy!

[@mikegmdw1]

Very interesting interview and some excellent flying experiences. One slight disappointment was no mention of the F-22 and how that would compare to the Typhoon, but many thanks Craig for your contribution to flying knowledge and your professionalism.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thank you. We didn’t compare the F-22 just due to the fact Craig didn’t fly it so it would be a difficult comparison.

[@thehighlander959]

@@Aircrewinterview I agree..

[@martinnwosu4259]

Brilliant story. A true hero

[@BentHestad]

Highly interesting! Thanks! Fighter pilots strikes me as being very clever and well balanced people in general. I guess they have to be.

[@muttleyjones2]

Great interview. I know this has been said many times already in the comments but I just had to agree. I have always loved the look of the English Electric Lightning and also the US Navy F-8.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thanks mate! I totally agree.

[@rovpilot1]

Respect for this man 👊😎

[@callenclarke371]

Great interview.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers

[@nicholasoliver]

That 9" of water saved his life. What an understated dude.

[@longbowdt]

Greatness!

[@Tubeflux]

Very interesting career... wow! Recommended video!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers!

[@David-lb4te]

Very good interview, and lots of interesting experiences and respect, right up until 41:25.

[@millennialtrucker6435]

Seems like you were ahead of the game on that one….!