Interview with Alan "Shoes" Mullen - TOMCAT Pilot and TOPGUN Instructor Pilot

[@chuckprice4541]

The best two hours I ever spent on a computer, bar none. This dude can tell a story like nobody else can.

[@sylvesterstewart868]

"I love how some of these guys don't think we want to hear ALL of their stories.

[@770valiant]

Forget cooking dinner or doing the shopping... i could honestly just sit here and soak up these stories all day long!!

[@MasterUxi]

Especially the scary ones and "pimping" other pilots.

[@Rex-ii2yz]

No joke, I wish this was 5 hours long.

[@bullhornzz]

Yeah, I remember the one with the guy who went from U-2 to SR-71 to U-2 saying something like "I didn't mean to go off on a tangent and get sidetracked" or something like that and I'll I could think is "You going off on a tangent and getting sidetracked on crazy stories is EXACTLY why you were invited here! 🤣

[@Flipper-mno13]

"You can't make this shit up." Absolutely an awesome interview, my favorite so far. Shoes is fascinating. Please do a part 2 or have Gonky and Shoes together. Great job Mover, another Marvelous Monday. 👍✔🇺🇲🙃

[@Rex-ii2yz]

"I never lie to men." I lost it with that line! LOL

[@tombreeze2055]

@@Rex-ii2yz pp00

[@tombreeze2055]

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[@tombreeze2055]

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[@tombreeze2055]

@@Rex-ii2yz 00pp

[@zohrab22]

One of the most enjoyable interviews I've ever listened to. Great job to both!

[@nicolaisen1]

Agreed!

[@TorToroPorco]

Stupendous guest, such a broad range of anecdotes and stories. And a model of dedication and sacrifice, 3 years as a Top Gun instructor in a program with such an intense training syllabus, endless days, getting up early, working late, working weekends.

[@txhypnotist]

Yeah, it's called a "Job".

[@BMF6889]

My dad was a WW II B-17 pilot, shot down, and spent 2 years as a POW. He stayed in the Air Force and flew B-47's and B-52's during the Cold War. I admire all military pilots, but I sometimes think the fighter pilots think their sh*t doesn't stink because they are the boss of dog fighting. And I have to agree. One of my uncles was a double ACE in the Korean war and he was one of those supremely confident fighter pilots but he practiced every chance he got. There were pilots in his squadron that swore that if you ever tangle with "Boots" Blesse, he'll be on your six before you can blink. I also had an uncle who was a Special Operations captain in Vietnam and severely wounded, a brother who was a Lt and captain in Vietnam and severely wounded. I served 21 years as a Marine Corps infantry officer with 3 full years in combat without a scratch. My first full time job as a Marine was as a platoon commander in Vietnam 1968-69. There weren't any stand downs except for a one week R&R I took in Singapore. Other than that, it was combat every day 24/7. My dad was my hero and role model and I wanted to be a military pilot. I didn't really care what I flew, I just wanted to be a military pilot. But I have poor eyesight and I'm not that great at math, and I was about to be drafted in 1967, so I joined the Marine Corps to avoid being drafted into the Army. But I always wanted to be a pilot. So, while in the Marine Corps, I earned my private pilot license, my glider license, my commercial and instrument ratings, I took basic through advanced aerobatics, and I flew perhaps six or so different aircraft including the Pitt's Special, the Laker, the Rockwell 112 (what a plane), the Beaver, and I took a mountain flying course in Alaska. I passed all of my flying tests the first time and I scored a 98 on the instrument written test. I took a few multiengine lessons, but as a Marine captain in those days, it was way too expensive and my duty hours were way too long (prepare for go to work at 4 am and didn't get home until between 8-10 pm). Weekends were sort of free unless there were riots in the barracks or other issues that caused me to have to come in on weekends to confront serious problems, which in the 1970's were many in the Marine Corps. I eventually had to give up flying because the cost of an instrument rated plane was too costly, the airport was too far, and my hours were insane in the Marine Corps working very long hours 6-7 days a week. Note to anyone wanting to join the Marine Corps, there is no over-time pay. My point here is that in a tribute to my dad, I found the time and money to become a private pilot with commercial and instrument ratings, fly gliders, fly aerobatics (a Citabria) and other models. I think the Laker amphibious was the most enjoyable. I could land on water or on a runway. Loved it. After I retired from the Marines, I became an independent consultant to various companies for military high technology programs for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Special Operations Mission Planning Office (SOMPO), and various companies support military technologies. I always wanted to know what my dad felt and experience flying a B-17, so when the Collings Foundation had the B-17 909 flying familiarization flights around the country, I signed up for those that came though Florida. It was fairly expensive (at least for me) at something over $400 for a 30 minute flight, but it was worth every penny. During the flight everyone aboard gets to explore the B-17 from the waist gunner positions to the bombardier. It was amazing. I got to see and feel what it was like when my dad flew his B-17 on his last mission to Hanover Rubber Works in Germany before he was shot down. But even before that, I graduated from the Army's Jump School and I was a skydiver and so I also knew what it was like to exit an airplane and deploy a chute. My dad never said much about his time in WW II and I was too young and stupid to ask him. When I was a kid, I do remember that he had to go to the hospital periodically to get small pieces of glass and metal removed from his foot which were pieces of shrapnel that had worked down to his feet over the years. God I love everyone who served in the military whether he/she was a fighter pilot or a cook. It takes the entire team to be successful. I was a platoon commander in Vietnam but if I didn't' get resupplied, if I couldn't communicate, if I couldn't control artillery and close air support, then we were dead. Ditto with medivac helicopters. Marine CH-46 helicopters were great, but they were limited because they had to support so many other missions. But when the weather was really bad or the enemy fire was really bad, the helicopters to take our dead and wounded were the Army's "Black Cats" HU-1N helicopters.. There heroism is not fully appreciated in any documentary or museum. I'm telling you that when nothing else seemed to get my wounded and dead out, it was the Army's Night Cats who got it done somehow. If I'm ever in a bar with anyone who ever flew in the Black Cats their bar bill is on me and the many lives they saved and the dead they brought back. I'm emotional just thing about that in the 1960's.

[@derekpirie9188]

When some who has been ''Top'' of his game in Flying, ''Shoes'', pays ''Mover'' a compliment. That is something. This is why i have been subscribed to C.W.Lemoine for a long time. Hope that one day you get to finish you Helli rating.

[@codyjohnson3756]

Such a great interview. Was seriously never bored throughout the two-hour interview. Cannot wait for a sequel!

[@ulna28]

This dude can write one hell of a biography

[@Mel-95]

"Think while Flying" is a crucial lesson for living life, even with both feet on the ground. Thanks to you both for one of the best interviews so far on this channel.

[@ronneglia5164]

Best interview ever! Shoes is an awesome and incredible guy, and definitely has the best stories. Thanks for another great interview

[@tonykennedy8483]

I can't think of an interview with a pilot I've enjoyed more than this, Shoes is fantastic to listen to with great great stories Can't wait to hear more from him and Mover and Shoes ruin The Final Countdown and Top Gun would be EPIC!!!!!!!

[@MaineWolverine]

Great interview! SHOES is the real deal, Top Gun graduate and instructor, Final Countdown, F-14 carrier pilot, etc. etc. My favorite video you've ever done.

[@jimf4036]

I am honored to have served with "Shoes" in VF-84

[@mik3ymomo]

Thanks for your service.

[@Myname-il9vd]

It’s so cool to be able to see so many people in the aviation community that have known so many other people it’s super super cool

[@greghavens7679]

Hey Jim any idea who has the photos that were taken by the VF84 'photographer' in Key West during filming of TFC? My father and I were both made honorary member of the squadron at the time?

[@jimf4036]

​@@greghavens7679 The photographer was Patrick "Robbie" Robinson. He was a great guy. Someone at a VF-84 reunion mentioned he was living in or near Chicago.

[@greghavens7679]

@@jimf4036 Thanks!!!

[@simflier8298]

What a treasure that was! One of the best fighter pilot interviews I've heard. I could listen all day long to those stories. What a great pilot!

[@theegg-viator4707]

ABSOLUTLEY BADASS... One of the best episodes! TOMCATS! 💪🏻🤠🤘🏻

[@stephenthomas2311]

Great Interview. Remarkable individual. A sequel would be 'a good thing'. These types of stories need to to be documented before those are lost. Thank you for your service.

[@paulsalvestrin7253]

2020 just got a lot better after watching this interview. Can't wait for part 2.

[@daidk4267]

Definitely one of my favorite interviews

[@Rick_Dunaway]

These Interviews are fantastic! My hats off to Mover and Shoes, I really enjoyed getting to listen in on the conversation. Thanks for sharing with us!

[@gragrn]

Thank you Mover, that was the best interview I've ever seen. Shoes is an amazing story teller and an awesome man. I saw The Final Countdown as a teenager at the movies and to think all these years later I'd be listening to one of the actual F-14 pilots that splashed the Zero's. I can't get the smile off my face!

[@770valiant]

Another great interview, and some of the coolest stories ever! I had tears of laughter! Great job Mover, and like Shoes said you do us a great service and are an inspiration 👍👍 "TOMCATS!"

[@paulstanton6104]

Two hours and worth every minute! Thank you Shoes and Mover!

[@race22crew4]

Great interview. The two hours flew by. Working for FedEx myself, I know several pilot that fly for us that are ex-military. F-4/F-14 and C141 to name a couple. I never get tired of hearing the flying stories they have. Keep the great video coming.

[@level1804]

“I never lie to men”. Love it! :)

[@zumalot]

Pure gold even for non-aviators. My dad was a LTJG in WWII on one of the many US ships sunk or severely damaged in kamikaze attacks. He passed away in 2001. He would have loved this interview just like I did. Thank you!

[@eagle1371]

Wow. What a great interview. That 2 hours felt like 10 minutes. Can’t wait for you to have Shoes back on the show. Outstanding.

[@kevinwheatcroft]

I remember watching "The Final Countdown" aboard Nimitz on her birthday in 1991. Awesome to hear the back story on how the movie was filmed. Thanks Mover and thanks for telling the great stories Shoes!

[@CallsignEskimo-l3o]

It would be great to know how many hours he got up in his cardboard box simulator as a six year old.

[@natural-born_pilot]

One of the best interviews ever because Shoes is a fantastic guy and Im sure he has a ton of stories we haven’t heard. I would love to meet him personally. When I was on active duty in the Air Force stationed at Tyndall AFB as a Tow System Operator we had a pilot in our squadron who previously flew the SR 71 and did a couple tours in Nam flying the A1E Sandy. He also had many fantastic stories. He was also our Sq commander at one point and treated us to some of his collection of movies he had taken flying close air support in the Sandy during SAR missions. He accomplished this by making a mount for his camera that he taped to the top of his instrument panel hood. A great guy and fantastic pilot who loved explaining things about flying and share his war stories if you had an interest of which I always had. He would do required test hops after an engine change which were scheduled on the weekends and I always traded my off time to go with him. I was hooked on the max TO climbs to Angels 30 and mach runs. If we had a quick target mission over the Gulf with some spare fuel remaining we would do a high speed dive over the drone boat and stroke the burners of the Voodoo to execute a loud max climb back to altitude. The boat crews loved it. God how I miss those days. Thank you Mover and that ‘ata boy’ from Shoes was spot on and well deserved stay with it.

[@CH-pv2rz]

My favorite interview... This guy is a Rock Star! Worth every second...

[@jeremyberg163]

What an awesome example of what a positive outlook, proper attitude preparedness looks like. Great guest. Many of his lessons and stories apply to so much more in life than aviation.

[@svenschwingel8632]

"You just had to ask her to stop that shit because it was scary!" 😂 That line should have made it into the Tomcat's flight manual.

[@kmfiz]

😆

[@stevephlyer]

The best interview you’ve ever done so far.

[@michealfaulkner5612]

Lived most of my life here in Pensacola, The Cradle of Naval aviation. Such a great town thats seen a bunch of great people come through. Thank you both for sharing this. Living here its kinda hard not to be a huge fan of aviation and more so jets.

[@chriskay3058]

I could listen to this guy all day.

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

Finally found some time to listen into and watch this fabulous interview. I agree, hands down one of the best interviews yet, and with no disrespect to the other excellent guests, Shoes is just that entertaining! I wonder if there are any other Scottish born American fighter pilots out there? Despite all his amazing stories, and the fun he had, I appreciate his willingness to remind us it's a dangerous job. A poignant reminder particularly this year, but what a blast he was to listen to!

[@2ZZGE100]

Mover is the boss! Great interview and guest. Some of the best aviation content on the internet. Your channel deserves millions of subscribers!

[@AlmostMeansNot]

Maybe my favorite interview ever. Awesome. So much laughter and great lessons.

[@1919champ]

Absolutely the best interview I have heard in a long, long time. Thanks Shoes and Mover. Great stuff!

[@migo5205]

WOW! This is really a great interview! I could listen to him for days. Its inspiring how much effort he invested to make his dream come true. TOMCATS! 😄

[@16vg60mikey]

One of the best interviews on KZbin period!

[@HostadDigitalMedia]

Love the chemistry between you two. I want a weekly podcast with you both! The Vulcan story is just amazing

[@cadjockey6113]

This interview was absolutely incredible!!!!! What a career, what a person, what a pilot!! 💯❤️

[@Fsone174]

Top Gun was the single greatest contributor to my dream of being a pilot growing up. I was born in ‘86 and spent the first ten years of my life wearing out three individual VHSes of Top Gun, and the F14 is an irreplaceable favorite of mine. Awesome, awesome interview.

[@BritinCanada]

Wow I could listen to this guy all-day long .This is the best interview ..Please interview him again ...I would love to buy this guy a beer ...Thank-you guys for your service

[@VyperMem]

Al is just like this, all the time! I'm happy to know him. I can't wait for him to do this again.

[@jeffmoser4147]

Great interview! I also served aboard the USS Nimitz with HS-9 during Lt. Mullen's time while filming the movie The Final Countdown and then in the Indian Ocean for 144 days at sea during the Iranian hostage crisis. My hat is off to all the ships crew and men of CVW-8!

[@joejohnson6215]

Great Guest! Im really loved how you just let me tell his stories once you kind of point him in a direction. Seems like he'd be a real fun guy to get a beer with! Great interview!

[@waynethompson1027]

I’ve watched this over and over , love these real life stories 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@mehdiderraz16]

All I want for Christmas is to just buy this guy a beer and listen to all of his stories! This guy is a legend

[@martinrezzy]

THIS INTERVIEW WITH SHOES IS THE BEST...i watched him in few but here he gave us the best stories of all....THANK YOU SIR and thanks to Mover for making it happen.

[@michealfaulkner5612]

Also the Mighty Lex! My Dad was tug master in Pensacola in the early 80's and I got to dog and pony with him to pull the Lexington out and bring her back in. Something I'll never forget!

[@paranagua1960]

What a great interview Mover, congrats and thank you so much for this opportunity. What a great story teller Shows, thank you so much.

[@charlied4850]

I flew with Al a few times as his RIO in VF-84. Great guy!

[@Gmar69]

Great interview Mover! This guy makes me feel really old. I came back from my second tour from Vietnam in 76', and he was just deploying, geez. He had a much more colorful career than I did. I wanted to be a pilot then, but I had to wait a few decades to become a pilot. I'm really glad that I had the chance to become a pilot, helicopters though.

[@ldayhuff]

Thanks for your service!!!

[@dgax65]

That was just a fascinating interview. It could have gone on for three hours and it still would be riveting.

[@paulcollins8296]

Shoes is amazing, and he was SO right in what he said about you Mover, the way that you conduct youself, and the service that you are providing, absolutely wonderful thank you SO much. Please keep these great interviews coming.

[@GaryL3803]

I was a teenager and Cadet in the Civil Air Patrol in Pensacola in the buildup to the Vietnam War. A few Navy pilot instructors befriended our CAP Squadron, in spite of the fact that the CAP was an Air Force Auxiliary. They were a tremendously great influence on us, encouraging good physical and mental health and giving us a occasional ride in T-34 trainers at Whiting Field, the Navy's nearby primary training airfield. Yes, that was certainly a different time. It only took a note from home signed by our parents to participate. The Air Force War College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama also supported us where I had a memorable ride in a T-33 jet trainer. Doing aerobatics and was a trill at age 14 that I vividly remember today. Being around both Navy and Air Force pilots brings back vivid memories of the difference between the Naval Aviators and Air Force Pilots. Young Navy trainees were mostly somewhat lacking in the social skills of modesty and humility. In the local Navy bar, Trader Jon's on Palafox St. in Pensacola, much boasting was heard about the superiority of the Naval Aviator. I was attracted to what I considered to be the more professional attitude of the Air Force. I was unable to serve in the military, so I never achieved my goal of being a military pilot, but the lessons learned as a teen stayed with the the rest of my life and I am still very interested in aviation.

[@sramsay483]

I love your channel, but have to say this was without a doubt my favourite interview. I could listen to Shoes tell stories all day long.

[@bigmotter001]

This interview is the best on youtube. Thanks for bringing it to us and all of the hard work it takes. Take care!

[@donc9751]

I could listen to this man all day long for ever I think! He just has such a great way of imparting the most information and gets his points across so well you can't help but learn from and enjoy the experience at the same time and come away still wanting to hear and learn more!!! Great interview CW!!!

[@1905flyer3]

Excellent! I could sit for hours listening to Shoes and Mover! Such great stories!

[@ktotheswiss1617]

I live for F-14 pilot interviews. BRING THE TOMCAT BACK.

[@realMaverickBuckley]

*T O M C A T S !*

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

I wish she would too, but she isn't coming back any time soon sadly. Maybe by the end of my life I'll get to see one at an airshow as Iran retires theirs but I'm not hopeful that will happen.

[@ktotheswiss1617]

@@Whiskey11Gaming 😭

[@jennscott6858]

Watched it live, and am back again! Shoes has great stories, and I'd rather watch this than a movie. Cheers!

[@Zany4God]

THANK YOU --- THANK YOU. This could go on all night. I love to hear these stories. I was in submarines out of San Diego, and submarine sailors can entertain you with "true" stories about their escapades on shore. May the telling of these tales never cease.

[@ecleveland1]

OUTSTANDING INTERVIEW!! I could not turn away, literally one of the best interviews I've ever seen or heard. The host did the number one thing for a great interview and that's let the guest talk and tell his stories without interrupting. And the stories Shoes had, I could listen for a month and not get tired. I mean come on that one about the other young pilot John and the switch in the simulator and John turned in his wings because of it, holy cow!

[@jesperschmidt4948]

What a story - great job guys - thanks !👍🏻

[@dioad1739]

This was such a great interview I don’t see how you could ever top this one mover.

[@wailermon1]

Unless you have him back! ;)

[@timrobinson7104]

As you do all these interviews, which are great, btw, I realize that Shoes was perhaps one of the F-14's I used to see/watched while stationed at Dam Neck back in the day. I still have pictures from Airshow stuff at Oceana from back in the day! Right in his timeframe, means I am one OLD dude!

[@ryanchrch]

Incredible interview- thanks Shoes, what a life!!!!

[@gfd635]

Shoes is such an interesting and capable guy...thanks for sharing him! I'm 69 and he makes me want to become a fighter pilot...lol.

[@robv141414]

This guy has the best stories. What a great interview.

[@ldayhuff]

Makes me Proud to be an American knowing guys and gals do what you guys do!!!!! Thanks for the great stories and interview!!!

[@kentgregory3299]

Mover. You have been hitting it out of the park lately with these interviews! Top shelf! I feel you could interview Shoes 2 more times and it would be a great experience. Same with Special. Another very cool aviator. Don’t change a thing. Your other non interview content is great as well. Thank you 🙏.

[@chopper7352]

So many great interviews by Mover with guests on the channel, but it's safe to say that this interview with 'SHOES' has set the bar to a new level that will be hard to beat. ...a Great Guy with some equally great stories.

[@bodazaphfa]

What a great interview! Former Tomcat guy here and still “in the business.”

[@rostamr4096]

What an awesome guy, I can listen to him for days..very funny and knowledgeable...

[@MasterUxi]

Excellent interview. His stories are great and I want to hear all the stories from his VF-84 and Top Gun.

[@lionessa4806]

What an amazing story teller… GREAT INTERVIEW…congrats to you for letting him tell his stories without interruptions or trying to do the macho “competition” stories (even though as a fighter pilot daughter I cant get enough of yours too)! Thank you for all the hard work you put into your channel n content… god bless you and thank you for your service Fly Navy👍🏻💞

[@coffeeguy6673]

Can you imagine knowing what career you want from such a young age ? And then seeing it through ! Great guest CW !! Respect to you both and all military personnel. Best wishes, Daz, UK...ex RAF.

[@Froobyone]

What an awesome individual. Humble, warm and very funny. Enjoyed every second. Thanks Mover.

[@flightsimstuff5417]

Wow. I didn't catch this til late at night. No way could I turn it off. And to add "Shoes" accolades: I think you also serve to archive a tiny branch of history that most are unaware of (movies don't count), and straight from the horses mouth. Nice work.

[@johnathonmullis4234]

Just amazing stuff. “Shoes” has some awesome stories and it’s wonderful of him to share them with the rest of us. As a teenager I was an avionics guy on f14’s and was stationed at nas miramar. It was uptight and what stands out in my memory is that I don’t remember the pilots having any fun. It was good to hear him tell how “challenging” things were especially for junior officers. Everyone worked extremely hard because everything was a competition and that made your peers your adversaries. Your future is dependent upon you being better than the next guy and if you weren’t cheating you weren’t trying hard enough. It all sounds really good but it’s dog eat dog. Things got worse after the movie top gun. Things all culminated at the tailhook convention in 91’. The navy tried to straighten things out afterwards but it was a toxic workplace.

[@enricovalle7935]

Great guest, awesome host interesting stories... can't wait to see the next one

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

TOMCATS!!!!!

[@MichaelLewisMusic]

Yup, watched the entire show... top to bottom. Wouldn't have wanted to miss a minute of it! Awesome job, great fun, many thanks!!

[@kentadams1982]

Mover this was absolutely pure gold. Your very best video so far. Please pass on our deepest gratitude to Shoes and thank you so much for putting this together. Two hours long and way to short, I could have watched this all day long.

[@realdeal1811]

Your best interview by far, shoes has some good stories and knows how to tell them

[@EJ6594]

Great interview! I could listen to him tell stories all day.

[@Freightdog330]

Excellent interview, thank you both for dedicating your time to this

[@wailermon1]

Loved this interview. As a former Navy Airwing guy Shoes brought back a whole bunch of good memories with his stories! BZ!

[@ianrose666]

I could listen to him for days. Awesome.

[@nathanchampion3809]

Shoes Mullen interview was on of the greatest I have witnessed on your channel!! Great job, excellent questions. I was impressed with how Shoes just kept coming up with more and wonderful tales of his adventures. The two hours could have been doubled!!

[@JP_Stone]

That guy is awesome. Old school fighter pilot. Love it and what a great interview.

[@tonidanioth8345]

Thank you for this amasing interwiew! You do a very good job, both of you!!!! Greetings from Switzerland

[@geraldschnur5624]

Great job!!! Movers interviews are fantastic! I look forward to listening to every one that is made!

[@dutchbrotherfan1284]

Definitely one of the best interviews. Thank you both

[@rgking03ify]

I served in a sister squadron to the VF-103 Jolly Rogers in 98-02

[@MendyHazan]

This came on automatically, but what a fantastic interview. Many lessons and reminders to take from this. Absolutely great.