Fighter Pilot Rivalries with Other Airframes and Services

Mover, Gonky, and Wombat answer a viewer question about rivalries fighter pilots have with other airframes and services. Check out The Mover and Gonky Show Mondays at 8PM ET LIVE. • The Mover and Gonky Show
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[@That_Stealth_Guy]

Wombat said it best. Being a pilot is a is a high stress job that requires you to be at the top of your game 100% of the time. So you have to use humor to help cope with that stress. Hence the inter-service rivalries. It also carries over to the maintainer side as well. You must take pride in what you do and always think that your jet is the best. Now for some humor... Three generals and an admiral, one from each branch of the service, are standing around arguing which of their respective branch has the bravest members. "Army is the bravest and I can prove it," says the first general. He looks around and spots a private. "Soldier, get over here!" The young private runs over, goes to attention and throws a crisp salute. "Soldier, I want you to go climb that water tower and jump off." The private sees the water tower and without hesitation runs over to the ladder, scales up, jumps off, and dies on impact. "Now that is bravery." The Navy admiral chuckles and says, " you think that is bravery? Here watch this." He looks around and sees a young seaman. "Seaman, over here!" The young seaman rushes over, goes to attention, and throws a sharp salute. "Seaman, I want you to go over to that water tower and swan dive off." Without a second thought the young man runs over, climbs to the top, and performs a graceful swan dive off off the tower landing head first, dying on impact. "Now that is bravery. " The Marine general, not to be outdone by the Navy, just sneers out, "you boys ain't seen a thing yet." He spots a young corporal and shout out, "hey maggot, over here on the double!" The young Marine barrels over, pops to attention, and throws a perfect salute. "Alright you worthless pile of crap time to finally make something of yourself. I want you to climb up that water tower, do exactly three flips mid-air and land head first into the ground. You better die on impact as well or so help me I will reach into whatever afterlife you believe in, rip you out, and throw you off that tower myself!" Without batting an eye the Marine sprints over to the water tower, climbs up, does exactly three flips, and lands head first dying on impact. "Now that is bravery." The Air Force general just shakes his head and says, "I got this in the bag." He sees a young airman and calls him over. The young man gives a quizzical look and motions to himself to make sure, eventually walking over to the general. He makes a lazy attempt at attention and briefly throws a salute. "Airman, I want you to go over to that water tower and jump off." The airman raises his brow, looks up at the tower, and then down at the pile of dead service members. "Pfft, screw you ... sir," he replies and walks off. The Air Force general turns to the other officers and remarks, "Now THAT is bravery!"

[@Ider4_Ever]

It’s funny how personalities match jets and jets match personalities. Eagle drivers were all, to a T, perfectionists. Training debriefs taking so long because the recordings had to be stopped all the time to explain. Meanwhile A-10 dudes would damn near take a six pack into the vault and laugh about shooting the gun.

[@James-in2lt]

This translates to the maintenance teams as well. I was up in Guam with our Hawaii f22s and we had some of the Elmo f22s as well. Nothing like some friendly banter over who’s jets were in better shape and who could do jobs better than the other base. All in good fun.

[@Amadeus_Flyfishing]

As a professional DCS pilot, I can definitely confirm the rivalry and banter with real jet pilots.

[@GolddenWaffles]

hahaha putting the refueling probe out when "certain personel" walks by is absolutely hilarious hahaha

[@PeteVA-212]

In a carrier air group back in the day, a long time ago, there was a good-natured rivalry imbodied in the saying, "Fighter pilots make movies and Attack pilots make history." Then Air-to-Air and Air-to-Mud missions were somewhat specialized. Not so today. Every aircraft to accomplish the mission is important as you guys said. I am still proud to be called a Navy A-4 Attack Pilot!

[@crazypetec-130fe7]

Retired C-130 crew chief and flight engineer here. I was at an airshow shortly after the debacle of our Afghanistan pullout and started talking to a C-17 pilot. I told him, "Sir, what your community did in Afghanistan was really impressive. All of you did a great job." I shook his hand as I continued, "... but you're still a Gucci boy." He laughed.

[@angiezzzzz]

Any profession has this kind of thing. It's human nature.

[@praetorxian]

Police, Fire, EMS/Paramedics rag on each other all the time, until time comes to co-operate together towards a common goal. Then we go back to ragging on the PrimaDonna Fire guys. ;)

[@thevictoryoverhimself7298]

“The eagle guys come in” “Boo” “And than the Raptor Gus come in” “Nerds” Lmao

[@amcds2867]

The Hawkeye vs Raptor story was hilarious, I'm still laughing while i type this.

[@CorePathway]

E-2 is the most valuable airframe on a carrier

[@noncrediblecase341]

Mover talking about seeing a Su-57 in the air while he's in his Viper and thinking he's going to win is both badass and inspirational as hell. Same with WOMBAT trying to fly an Airbus even when half the plane is gone. Never over until it's over.

[@sparrowlt]

Well its like the Alaska 261 crew.. they never gave up and never stoped trying things to the very end.. they tried flying the plane upside down for some seconds ("ok we are flying, upside down but we are flying")

[@NoahKuzel]

This reminds me of the lines from the scene, in Revenge of the sith. "Can you fly a cruiser this size?" "You mean do I know how to land what's left of this thing?"

[@sparrowlt]

Or one from BattleStar Galactica: -How did you landed this thing captain? -,,i just pointed it at the deck and stoped there..."

[@thomaskohler4257]

I love this format. Short, humorous, intelligent, some times philosophical. Thanks!

[@thomashimstreet3019]

Any thing that gets you airborne is the best jet ever. I flew S 3B, and the HHH (Hoover's, Helos, and Hummers) were known as The Fat Kids. We sat at the fat kit table and talked never so serious and played UNO for hours, and the Cool Kid Fighter Guys would talk all SWFTI and blin codes. I had it made in the shade. Always proud of everyone and everything. Peace Out. Zippy

[@mikej4103]

I was an AO in a Viking squadron (VS-21) it was the same for us. The cool kids were hanging bombs we were hanging buddy stores sometimes loading sonobouys.

[@petesheppard1709]

Talking about never giving up; there are accounts of test pilots in out of control birds who knew they were about to die who calmly read off data right up to impact

[@viperdriver82]

If i were one of those Rraptor guys i would have died of laughter 😂😂😂😂

[@lukenewton6491]

Sexy E-2 😂😂

[@LRRPFco52]

They could have just said, "You know what's in that big dish? A Radar that can't see anywhere close to what I see with mine. We actually have to tell them what's out there, and there's 5 of them inside that plane, and only one of me, and they all would cut off body parts to get a chance to fly the Raptor."

[@kymw7833]

Ah Mover this is the best content you,'ve struck gold Wombat and Gonky +mover it's so entertaining mate keep up the good work Kym Adelaide

[@johnsteiner3417]

Suddenly reminded of Flight of the Intruder. "Fighter ****s make movies. Bomber pilots make HISTORY!"

[@akfreed6949]

I met some guy with mechanic one piece gear and air force baseball cap at a gas station one early morning . This was when the stealth fighters were publicly known in Anchorage Alaska . Anyway , since he was wearing the Air Force hat I asked him what the stealth fighters were like . He gave me a real dirty look and told they are PsOS .

[@ghost762]

Reminds me of the LA Speed story from SR-71s

[@bjlewis5431]

Yeah, That SR-71 speed-check story by former Blackbird pilot Brian Schul was good. If you're not familiar with it, check it out. Perfect case in point! 🤣

[@PlugInRides]

Everyone thinks fighter pilots are at the top of the food chain, but I've had "heavy" pilots claim they chose the transports and tankers track because a fighter pilot can't get up in the middle of a cross-country flight to stretch his legs, get some coffee, or hit the head. It also makes transitioning to the airlines a little easier. Normally a fighter pilot flies shorter sorties than a cargo pilot, but I remember flying from Austin, TX to Korea on a couple of deployments, and our F-4 Phantom pilots had some long hours. It was way more comfortable inside the KC-10, than being in the jets they were refueling. A-10 pilots sometimes get guff, since their airframe is subsonic, and lacks reheat. Other pilots will joke that you need to fly "Fighters" to be a fighter pilot. In "Flight of the Intruder", Brad Davis wins a bar competition against a "Fighter" pilot, since he considers himself a "Bomber" pilot for flying the A-6. In the USAF Reserves, there was slightly less of this rivalry, since many of our F-4 pilots transitioned from the units earlier C-130's, and one of our commanders was an A-10 pilot that went on to command the USAFR. Many of our new fighter pilots came out of other aircraft. It was funny to see some F-16 pilots from other units get surprised by our experienced Phantom pilots, because on paper the F-4 was no match for a Viper.

[@thevictoryoverhimself7298]

I just want to know why the Air Force song features a line where you go down in flames. In the navy song you go drinking with your buddies and everyone gets home safe.

[@ballisticarc]

Well, we're living in fame that whole time, looking down on those Navy pukes, and if, and I'll clarify it's a big IF, we go down in flames, it's always a surprise to us. Whole time: "We're winning, we're winning, spouting flames from under, give 'er the gun, we're hung so heavy (with bombs), we're winning, droppin' loads, we're winning, why're you bothering to shoot at me, you're just embarrassing yourself, we're winning..." We figure, if you don't live like that, you're going to be going down in flames, self-fulfilling prophecy.

[@thevictoryoverhimself7298]

@@ballisticarc I like how the Air Force song subtly implies that if it wasn’t a gun kill, it didn’t count. Which is absolutely true

[@That_Stealth_Guy]

The line is.. " We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!".. which is exactly what Mover ,Gonky and Wombat all said . When it comes down to doing your job in combat you will either succeed in the mission or fight until the end. Sounds kind of line from the movie 300 where the Spartan Queen tells Leonidas "With your shield or upon it" However I think you are forgetting this part of the Air Force song.. Here's a toast to the host Of those who love the vastness of the sky, To a friend, we send a message of his brother men who fly. We drink to those who gave their all of old, Then down we roar to score the rainbow's pot of gold. A toast to the host of men we boast, the U.S. Air Force! Zoom! Off we go into the wild sky yonder, Keep the wings level and true; If you'd live to be a grey-haired wonder Keep the nose out of the blue! (Out of the blue, boy!) Flying men, guarding the nation's border, We'll be there, followed by more! In echelon, we carry on. Hey! Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!

[@winsalot84]

​@@phillipbanes5484this is a very strange comment.

[@CentralStateMower]

Wombat's E-2 story was hilarious! 😂 Would have loved to seen the look on the Raptor pilots faces when the waitress asked them if they flew the Hawkeye. 😂

[@henrikryan1606]

Thanx for the Mel Brooks reference Mover! I had to go find it😆

[@jaynicew]

The Hawkeye Got involved in the Low Transition Competition!!!!😭😭😭😭💀💀💀💀

[@bowhuntbum319]

To verify I know what they’re talking about thats gear up and leveling off just off the deck?

[@CentralStateMower]

I imagine there's even rivalry between the bomber community platforms as well...(B1, B2, B52). And soon the new B21 Raider

[@IJN_Guy]

"You'd be shaking in your boots if you saw a Su-57!" I mean, he has a point. I would be "shaking" if Russia used half their fifth-gen fleet against a single F-16 flight - not from fear but laughter.

[@Overneed-Belkan-Witch]

AIM seeing An 57 is like seeing a whole you can eat buffet in from of it

[@dudehuh5491]

ribbin is camaraderie and respect same wit ridin dirt bikes racin cars or flyin thank you all for your service

[@supahornet18]

I love your videos man keep it up! But I’ve been dying to know how pilots are assigned there squadron. I can’t find anything that will give me a straight up answer.

[@shura0107]

NGL, the Hawkeye is cool.

[@pollylewis9611]

This was a great video, Mover "Yes" nothing more to say there well then, the "close the nozzle" funny, TR "sexy E-2" story is too funny and Gonky "Raptor Nerds" Epic. Thanks for another awesome one!

[@amschind]

EDIT: Challenger disaster, not Columbia. To Wombat's point about still trying to get home even when the fuselage is flying alongside you, that scenario essentially played out in the Challenger disaster. The switches for the pilot, Michael Smith, were in positions that were essentially impossible to get to without operator intervention, which meant that he was still trying to land what was at that point basically just a cockpit.

[@davidbogard229]

Thanks Guys! Great clip from the full convo.

[@joeshovel2]

That's cool that Wombat flew a biplane. He's like the Red Baron! I thought biplanes were WWII planes.....LOL 🤣 JK, Wombat

[@OmegaMinxComp]

Mover is hilarious. My dad (viper guy) is the same way about Eagle guys 🤣 Brits showed y’all Monty Python and the humor hasn’t been the same since.

[@Wrootplonk]

Hell, you have a lot of banter and rivalry between two squadrons on the same base, flying the same airframe.

[@petropavlovsk100]

Too funny. Too true 😅

[@schumy1975]

the E-2 is so sexy 😂😂😂 good one guys thank you for sharing

[@user-ir3sw4lr7t]

I think the A-10 is super cool, i mean i know its super old and its air to ground but just totally bad ass looking

[@bowhuntbum319]

I’m not totally sure I know what a low level transition is forsure. Leveling off just off the deck gear up and accelerating or they’re talking tower transitions?

[@cab6273]

The first one

[@JimNortonsAlcoholism]

What's low transition?

[@caio3568]

Raptor "nerds" was such an appropriate description even I, who never had any contact with flight culture whatsoever, LMFAOed.

[@donaldparlett7708]

I love that we are reminded that we are the victims of the lowest bidder, sooooo true. Aviat forever!!

[@DonWan47]

The waitress has won MVP of this video.

[@mattcallaway7164]

Goes for every profession. My job the clear coat guys rip on us powder coat guys, we rip on them back, and we both rip on the inspection/quality control guys (because they actually ARE lame 😂)

[@crusty251]

Learn something everyday... fuel probe salute.🙃

[@donmiller7119]

353 CTS Alumni / 2002 - 2003

[@jasonbaker3931]

Is that a Rattler mug?

[@Ken_Koonz]

It's simple: your plane is better than any other. 130>17 #Jpride

[@jpotter2086]

Need some hot E-2C memes, stat

[@grendelkahn]

SR-71 guys have to be top of the food chain right?

[@CWLemoine]

Why?

[@IJN_Guy]

I mean, they aren't in any food chain now. If it were, it would be in the middle or lower nowadays.

[@bjlewis5431]

Brian Schul, former SR-71 pilot, tells his 'Speed-check' story, that sure makes clear that they certainly used to be! 🤣 You can google it.

[@michaelrunnels7660]

@@bjlewis5431 Kind of like Brittany Force claiming she is the best race car driver in the world because she's gone the fastest.

[@shaider1982]

Yeah, do Falcon pilots really deride the F15 as the Mothra/Flying Tennis court?😂

[@CWLemoine]

Never heard it called Mothra. Tennis court, I guess. We mostly just made fun of them for their love of crew chiefs and absolute lack of relevance in real combat. Zamboni drivers. 😂

[@FirstDagger]

Shaider I think the nickname you mean is Giant Bird Rodan.

[@Ider4_Ever]

@@CWLemoine Desert Storm wasn’t - that - long ago…was it? Was it?! Does anyone look prettier boring holes through the sky than an Eagle?

[@CWLemoine]

I think the Raptor eventually took over as the resident "Looks pretty doing nothing of value" jet. Eagle jets just did vacation deployments and security packages.

[@Ider4_Ever]

Raptor will always have that glorious balloon kill.

[@erikphillips9989]

F22s are 👑 yes yes

[@blackbillyjack]

Mover, you need come fly for FedEx.

[@Parawingdelta2]

You guys use the word "like" a lot.😉

[@user-wt1lq8vk7u]

Being a hornet guy making fun of the viper doesn't fit with me, being any pilot making fun of the typhoon that's a whole other thing.

[@FirstDagger]

The two seater Typhoon is soooo ugly.

[@reso372]

@@FirstDagger Even as a huge typhoon fan i cant deny that haha

[@pongokamerat8601]

Phunny!

[@Fox-One1937]

Navy vs USAF jokes plz

[@randymoore6063]

Wait I drive a Zamboni!

[@OperationEndGame]

Lol. Kinda like the Japanese Imperial Navy pilots v. IJA fighter jocks…

[@monostripezebras]

test if really all coments are beeing read.. "what is the color of the boathouse in Hereford?"

[@CWLemoine]

Why?

[@crusty251]

I've heard this somewhere... a movie? something to do with SAS?

[@1FatLittleMonkey]

@@crusty251 Ronin.

[@crusty251]

@@1FatLittleMonkey That's it! I remember now... that was some sort of a trick question to verify if a guy was 'really' an ex-SAS, lol.

[@bjlewis5431]

@@crusty251 That's correct..it was a trick question. There is no 'boathouse' there..not of any colour..and anyone who'd ever served out of there in any capacity as SAS, would've well known that. A very definative & deliberate.."There isn't any such bloody thing, you daft & dopey little wanker!"..is about the kind of answer you'd likely get from anyone who actually was. Cheers! 🍻

[@VarkDriver]

The F-16 is a great aircraft if you want to bomb the end of your own runway... former F-111/F-15/F-117 driver.

[@johnporten8303]

T O M C A T S !

[@pf6797]

The raptor nerds 😮😅 ded

[@zachansen8293]

"lowest bidder" that meets the requirements. That's like complaining that your house is only built to the code and no better.. Also all that shit is cost-plus; there is no "low bidder"

[@TheProps03]

Haaaaa! Built by the lowest bidder!😂. Go Lockheed!😆

[@boblynch2802]

All of you are wrong. Submarines are at the top!

[@thetopsecretpentagonsclass6350]

Well, nobody shake if anyone fly against any Russian so called invincible machines which are now earning bad reputation in Ukraine war. I interview Israeli pilots who mocked many Russian fighter aircrafts near Israel Syria border with F-15 & F-16s.

[@robertpesche]

Don't need to watch. Answer is same as loud motorcycles: small pen....