{"podcast":{"title":"Fighter Pilot Podcast","slug":"fighter-pilot-podcast-743430","podcast_index_feed_id":743430,"rss_url":"https://feeds.redcircle.com/87e44bb8-fa63-4642-a11d-e341c14c2243","website_url":"https://redcircle.com/shows/the-fighter-pilot-podcast","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/9d72b556-6b67-11f1-842d-2b0378f9e2c0/image/fd3737b535a2cad7558fadef87d227a0.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Tucker \"Cinco\" Hamilton, Retired U.S. Air Force Fighter Test Pilot","episode_count":340,"summary":"The Fighter Pilot Podcast explores the fascinating world of air combat: the aircraft, the weapons systems, the emerging technologies, and most importantly—the people. Most episodes feature a guest who helps explain military aviation topics such from Vietnam shoot down stories to how AI is changing air combat. If you love the roar of a high-speed flyby or are enamored by the poise and confidence of the brave men and women who fly, fix, and fight these amazing aircraft, then this show is for you!","last_synced_at":"2026-06-30T02:17:14.222487+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fighter-pilot-podcast-743430"},"episode":{"title":"Warbirds, the Whale, and a Life Well Lived","slug":"warbirds-the-whale-and-a-life-well-lived","published_at":"2025-12-08T16:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fighter-pilot-podcast-743430/warbirds-the-whale-and-a-life-well-lived","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fighter-pilot-podcast-743430","url":"http://fighterpilotpodcast.com","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SAHI6014002948.mp3","summary":"We’re opening the vault for another Happy Hour—this one from 2021 with retired U.S. Navy Captain Matthew “Tom” Maxwell. Tom flew numerous World War II– and Korean War–era aircraft from carriers around the world before eventually finding his way into his favorite platform: the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior. In the “Whale,” he famously saved a fuel-starved F-8 by breaking the rules and refueling the Crusader over North Vietnam, getting the pilot safely back “feet wet.” He was also aboard USS Oriskany during the devastating October 1966 fire that claimed the lives of 44 sailors. Tom captured these stories and many others in his memoir Grandfather’s Journal: A Grandson’s Journey into His Grandfather’s Life, a short and delightful read naval aviation aficionados will enjoy. Sadly, Tom passed away a year after this Happy Hour originally aired and now rests at Arlington National Cemetery. Support this podcast at — https://www.patreon.com/cw/ftrpltpdcst","meta_description":"We’re opening the vault for another Happy Hour—this one from 2021 with retired U.S. Navy Captain Matthew “Tom” Maxwell. Tom flew numerous World War II– an…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2394,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fighter-pilot-podcast-743430/episodes/warbirds-the-whale-and-a-life-well-lived/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fighter-pilot-podcast-743430/warbirds-the-whale-and-a-life-well-lived.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}