Stealth Fighter: A Year in the Life of an F-117 Pilot

Maybe it's just the differences between modern military pilots and those who served in the World Wars, and all that entails, but there is just very little depth or much of any redeeming quality to this book, at least not enough to have made it worth my time and money. I could get as much of an intimate feel for the F-117 from a well written magazine article, and the personal side only had superficial depth.

Excellent account of the author's experiences flying the F117. There are very few books on this topic from a pilot's perspective... in fact, perhaps this is the only one? I appreciated that no doubt there were things not in the book which may have been 'no-go' areas for its author in order to have it published.His additional comments regarding how the war - excuse me, 'strikes' - were prosecuted were acutely interesting and, most understandably, depressing. It's said that many of the officers who were junior during Viet Nam felt that if they remained in the service and the future brought another conflict, they would by such time likely be in positions of authority and would never allow the ridiculous shenanigans perpetrated by civilian leaders to occur again. This is so and actions such as 'Shock & Awe' but one example. If you're going to fight... fight... don't nibble. Unfortunately, these lessons were forgotten or ignored when it came to Serbia.Highly recommended.

I'm not much of a reader, but this book had my attention the whole time. The author has a very "every-man" writing style that is easy to follow and fun to read. He has a wit and humor that had me chuckling to myself from time to time. He does a tremendous job of recording what it's like to be not only an F-117 pilot, but also a member of the Air Force's flying community. He caught both the excitement of real operations as well as the mundane aspects of exercises and office politics.He also gave me a new perspective on the war with the Serbs that I had not heard before. This was very eye opening and is an excellent read for anyone striving for a top ranking position in the US military.I fully enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone in the Air Force or anyone wanting to join the Air Force.EDIT 1: During some of my military training I actually got to meet one of the guys mentioned in the book: Speedy. He was a civilian and the only reason I bothered to ask if he ever flew F-117s was because he was wearing a "Black Sheep" lanyard. Having the book fresh in my head, I asked him about it. He was very quick to admit to having flown them and having known Lt Col O'Connor, the author of the book.Oh, and he had a lengthy defense about "never missing his target" despite blowing up a cemetery. He claimed he hit his target, but the computer was programmed wrong. We all had a good laugh. Most notably he told us quite a few stories that he said were deemed a bit too saucy for the book.All-in-all, these guys truly are larger than life and meeting one of them only made the book that much more real and enjoyable. Again, I highly recommend this book. It's amazing.

Outstanding read! Brings home the vagaries of peace time combat operations, especially when the brass jumps in and tries to drive the bus. Highly reminiscent of Vietnam and what was done over there by McNamara. O'Conner puts you in the seat with him for the good and the bad, and the ugly! This is one of those books that everyone who wants to be a fighter pilot or a combat pilot should read. It's not a sugarcoated version of the USAF, it's the reality of day to day operations, albeit with the F-117 and all that entailed.Highly recommended!

As a former A-10 pilot, I can attest to the authenticity of the anecdotes that LtCol O'Connor shares. While the F-117 is the aircraft described here, much of the story is applicable to any Air Force fighter aircraft. He captures the mood of squadron life, the issues with maintaining a relatively stable family life while doing a job that many people aspire to and few ever achieve. He also discusses the contributions of those whose duties are essential to the success of the mission, yet are rarely acknowledged. Fighter pilots get the glory, yet those of us honest enough to admit it realize we couldn't do it without the supporting cast. Overall, an excellent read, and highly recommended for fighter pilots as well as those who want to understand the man behind the mystique.

An awesome tale of flight and airmanship. Very much appreciated being able to read what life was like for a F-117 pilot, from attempting to find a decent home to learning to fly solo at the time the world's only stealth aircraft to feeling like I was in the F-117A cockpit about to bomb Serbia. That's the kind of writing I am happy to buy to the point this book should set the standard for future memoirs by military aviators...

It's almost impossible to find a worthwhile book on the F-117 and its mission. This one reads better than a novel. Much technical detail but not too much that it gets boring. This excellent aircraft was retired too soon and this book demonstrates how effective it accomplished its mission. It's too bad the Lockheed Martin Skunkworks can't duplicate the F-117 development with it's overpriced, behind schedule, underperforming turkey called the F-35.

Great story, very well written. O'Connor weaves an intriguing mix of his personal experience with the F-117 in both training and war with some of the military humor that kept them going. An old saying goes : A pilots worst enemies are altitude and runway, altitude above you and runway behind you. With this book, the readers worst enemy is pages already turned. If you like flying and flying stories, you are in for a real treat here.

Il libro parla dell'eperienza operativa di uno degli ultimi piloti di F117 che hanno preso parte alle missioni bombardamento contro la Serbia negli anni '90.Vengono descritte in maniera chiara ed esaustiva tutte le procedure di volo e quali sensazioni si provano a volare di notte in un velivolo completamente isolato dal mondo esterno. Inoltre l'autore si lasca andare in considerazioni tattiche e di strategia NATO in quel contesto, criticando fortemente tutto l'apparato Occidentale per l'enorme inefficenza con cui ha condotto la campagna militare.Consigliato sia agli appassionati di aeronautica militare e di storia moderna.

That's a fighter pilot's book written by a fighter pilot. Being one of them I'm sitting in the cockpit with Lt Col O'Connor and get all his feelings. A "must read" definitely.F. Carrel

Quite a good book, a good inside look at a stealth pilots life. If you like aviation and war books, then this is for you