Having been in VF-142 when Jerry was aboard, I would like to tell you what I remember about this guy. I was an aviation fire control technician (worked on the Phantom radar system) and saw Jerry on a daily basis, either in maintenance control, the ready room or on the flight deck. before or after flights. This man was one of the best officers in the squadron, one of the best pilots (as evidenced by hiss Mig kill) and he was a true professional.. As a radar tech, I was more closely associated with the RIOs (back seaters) than I was the pilots, but Jerry was one of those guys that appreciated all of the folks that made the F4 go. He is an amazing person, and I am proud to have served in VF-142 with him. A HUGE Bravo Zulu from me to him! (Footnote: No one is more deserving of an extended stay in Scotland than Jerry Beaulier...I say that as a Campbell with relatives still in Scotland.)

@joecampbell4109

6 жыл бұрын

Charlie Moore I never saw any of our Phantoms configured with 8 Sidewinders. It's true that Sparrows were not reliable and went ballistic on many occasions. VF-142 had no black pilots or RIOs during my time as a Ghostrider , but other squadrons did...Phantom squadrons as well as other types of aircraft.

@joecampbell4109

6 жыл бұрын

Charlie, the Sidewinder was the better weapon, as it would track on a heat signature, day or night. The Sparrow relied on too many intangibles to be effective, or at least the Sparrows we had during the '60s and early '70s. during Vietnam. I can't comment on later versions of the Sparrow which came after my time.

@cvette79blue

6 жыл бұрын

I do have one question as on the JFK I heard some pilots calling the Mig Flogger the Phantom Flogger. around 75-76. In you opinion what Mig would you say retired the Phantom? or were you gone by then?

@fredfungalspore

5 жыл бұрын

Nice words

@edwardpate6128

3 жыл бұрын

Former enlisted make the best officers!

I was a member of VF - 142 from Feb. 1972 till my discharge Sept. of 1974 . Stationed at NAS Miramar Fighter town USA. Made a final WEST - PAC cruise on the USS ENTERPRISE BEFORE SHE WAS TRANSFORMED to fit the F - 14 Tomcat. .On Dec.28, 1972 LTJG Scott Davis and LTJG Jeff Ulrich shot down a MIG fighter. ENTERPRISE's First of the Vietnam war. then went on a Med cruise Jan '74 to Aug '74 before VF - 142 was changed to the F - 14 Tomcat. I was a Turd shirt as we were called aboard ship. The friends i made and the places I've been to was amazing . Who else can say they saw the world before they turned 21.

@mstallion98

10 ай бұрын

Hello Shipmate, I was a Ghostrider from Dec 73-Dec 76. I was in AT/AE shop. Have many memories of the 74 cruise. As you might know we moved to the east coast and are having a reunion shortly.

@richardbohall6877

10 ай бұрын

@@mstallion98 yeah when we got back from the Med cruise was told that the squadron was being decommissioned and changing from F - 4J Phantoms to F - 14 Tomcats. some friends were transferred to other squadrons at NAS Miramar. Dont know if you remember me. BOATS

@richardbohall6877

10 ай бұрын

@@mstallion98 you are the first contact i've had with the squadron since i've been out

I would have loved to have heard more of his journey from an enlisted sailor to becoming a Naval Aviator.

@fredmitchel1236

2 жыл бұрын

What a nice story.... How about that trainer that couldn't take all the power and might slip...it reminds me of my homemade go-cart...

I just wanted say that I really enjoyed this interview. I was once a young sailor onboard the USS Independence, CV-62 back in 1974 and worked as an ABH striker and I enjoyed watching the F4J Phantom take off and land. All of the pilots were amazing but I loved the F4's followed by the A7E's. It was a wonderful life and I retired from the Navy and still enjoy aviation as much today as I did back then.

@Aircrewinterview

5 жыл бұрын

Great to hear you enjoyed and thanks for sharing.

Wow! What an amazing guy! He's got a resume as long as the Empire State Building is tall. So many stories. I could listen to him for hours on end. Thank you for interviewing him. A true Pilot!

Men like that are what we are missing in leadership of our nation, been there done that and no bluster. Calm confidence.

@fredfungalspore

5 жыл бұрын

Yes I agree his demeanor comes across that way

@FujisamaProductions

4 жыл бұрын

I agree

@thebobs9343

3 жыл бұрын

Great vid, great guy. You could be anywhere in America or anywhere on the planet and have a fab time having a beer with this guy.

@taylorc2542

3 жыл бұрын

He looks so much like Alec Guiness I heard an English accent for a sec.

Jerry, thank you for your Bravery. Love the Phantom. I was a 10 yr. old boy in 1970 who was in awe of these jets that over my house during the Vietnam War. Grew up a mile from the south runway of the Quonset Naval Air Station in Rhode Island. Fly Navy..!

@patfarra627

2 жыл бұрын

And Marines

Is every fighter pilot a perfect speaker and story teller. They are all so engaged and informative about everything

@williamkillingsworth2619

5 жыл бұрын

Swaglife 81 they don’t let idiots fly military fighter jets

@phatbusted

4 жыл бұрын

I suppose so, only because by nature they have to communicate and remember every single bit of detail of every op for debrief & intelligence purposes with military precision, and so ... There U hv it, the Perfect Speaker

When I first started flying for the airlines, they were manned largely by ex Vietnam era pilots. This is just one of thousands of great pilots and I wish we could record them all. So many of these men are so humble and yet incredibly aggressive sportsmen. They are the kind of men who are always teaching and when competing, will kick your butt and then pick you up and make it a great educational moment. Another great warrior, confident, competent super competitive and humble.

Great interview, Jerry! I flew as VF-143 Pukin' Dogs (RIO) in 1967/68 with legendary fighter pilot Mel Holmes. The 'Dogs' will be attending a memorial for Mel at MCAS Miramar on 14 May 21. Thank you for sharing these 'fond memories.' Your skipper 'Billy Goat Franklin' became my XO in the F-4 RAG at VF-101 NAS Key West after our combat cruise; and CO Capt. Roger Boh sent me to Top Gun in June 1970. Fond memories are forever. Shalom!

Fascinating interview. I had the good fortune of being an aircrew in the back seat of the F4 when I was stationed at NAS North Island from 1965 to 1968. Worked on the test line in the (at the time) Overhaul and Repair facility at North Island. We overhauled F4’s and F8’s and other aircraft types. They would test fly the planes before being sent back to their squadrons so lots exciting flights. Really liked night flights, especially when there was a full moon to light up the night.

How cool, the first kill in real life following the introduction of TopGun. Looking forward to seeing the F-4 in DCS.

So humble, no macho bravado but just down to earth getting a job done, never stop learning how to get it done better and then helping others to get better at getting their jobs done. Thank you Sir and thanks to Aircrew for the interview

Very enjoyable interview. Jerry and I were concurrent in 892 NAS. I never knew he had been on a culture course! Jerry’s coaching greatly helped one of our pilots get into ETPS. Great squadron character. BZ.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Wish I had more time with him as he had some great stories to share much like yourself. . Glad you enjoyed it, Chris.

Jerry you are a legend mate. So good to hear air crews stories of life in aviation. These guys are real characters, so glad to get the chance to listen to them 😁

Excellent interview with a very accomplished, yet humble, naval aviator. Bravo.

What a great bloke. loved seeing the excitement in his face talking about his beach wheelchair venture.

Perfect first hand info. Could watch these all day.

Wow. What a career. Hard to believe he was able to squeeze so much in. He's a good candidate for follow up, in depth interviews on some of his experiences such as test pilot school. Thank you for letting these guys tell their stories.

Beautiful work, Thank you, Gents for your service.. and the great story told here!! Phantoms Phorever!! Can't imagine what it felt like straight out of Top Gun school and be able to put what you were taught into practice... textbook stuff!! Love it!! Cheers for the vid!!!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, Steve :)

Great Interview as always mate. You do an amazing job of finding great characters to interview and this guy seems to be a really humble genuine man. Was really interesting to hear about his time with US and British Navy's, you could probably do a whole podcast just on his carrier experiences! Excellent stuff thanks for all your efforts.

Now that we heard a first person account of air to air combat, think we need a first hand account of a SAM engagement. Wonder if you could interview any Wild Weasel pilots. Or maybe one of the guys from the insane Package Q strike during Gulf War I.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

I totally agree. I am currently looking into it.

Fantastic interview. History personified. I love interviews like this and so appreciate it. Thank you to both of you. I’ve found another favorite channel. Cheers.

Omg !!! Imagine what they have done, what they know and what they saw ... Enjoyed every second, thank you sir.

Thank you for doing this interview. Amazing.

Was looking forward to this one, already a good watch, good effort

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Cheers

What a wonderful conversation with an articulate and well informed raconteur.

What an interview! He reminds me a lot of my dad who flew for the Marines, first A4’s off the Lexington and then OV10’s. My favorite story of his was about the time he scored a “kill” on a Navy F18 during an exercise while flying the OV10!

Very interesting and extremely informative... Thanks for sharing

Beautifully conducted interview. Every bit of this was fascinating and marvelous. As the son-in-law of an F4 tailhooker, I thank you both.

What an unassuming interesting man with fantastic stories about a great career

Such an amazing and nice chap with a fascinating life!

The brilliance of the F4 is in part due to the people who flew them, worked on them and pushed them to their limits not just in performance but in the roles they could operate. A classic aircraft and a testament to human ingenuity.

What an interesting man, you can tell he'd be an excellent test pilot, calm, cool and confident. What a an example for young people, a distinguished career and now he helps with building special wheelchairs, hats off to you sir. I know this was done some time ago Mike, but just want to say that you're interviewing style does you credit, just letting the interviewee talk with no interruptions, others can learn from this. Thanks.

Thank you very much for this interview. Great person sharing great stories.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

You’re very welcome.

Great interview! Really interesting and informative. Thanks for sharing your stories Jerry!!!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Stephan Greenway Cheers.

This is the second time that I've watched this video. It's one of my favorites, perhaps my favorite.

Outstanding video and guest!

What a interesting life told by a one intelligent gentleman thankyou for posting...A phantom admirer..

Heck of a good interview. Mr. Beaulier seems like a great guy - cool, calm, collected. Very enjoyable Thank you.

Awesome interview with a truly awesome gentleman. Could listen to him every day of the week and twice on Sunday! One question I would like to ask Mr. Beaulier is wasn't he ever interested in flying in the F14 Tomcat and the EE Lightning?

Good stuff once again. I remember watching F-4J's and S's taking off and landing at Kaneohe MCAS in Hawaii and also the F-4C's of the Oregon ANG in Portland. What a neat airplane and so cool to get the perspective of flying one directly from one who did. Thanks for these interviews.

@AvengerII

6 жыл бұрын

The funny thing is that as common as Phantoms used to be in the US, I only ever saw them fly overhead TWICE, and I've lived in the Midwest US most of my life. I know they crisscrossed the area ALL the time. There are installations, many ANG/reserve bases all over the place. In Ohio alone, there used to be AT LEAST 3 ANG bases (Toledo, Newark, Rickenbacker ANG Base in Columbus) that had fighter wings. One guy I knew in high school, a real character, had a flight in an F-4 he said when he was in Boy Scouts. An Air Force F-4 most likely. Then again, I knew a junior high school science teacher who had a ride in an F-15 trainer (B or D-model at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) and another guy who had a buddy in the Italian Air Force who snuck him a ride (allegedly) in a Tornado so civilians HAVE gotten rides in these things in the past. Just like I've run across people who claimed their sibling got into the torch of the Statue of Liberty! (I'm NOT that naive guys, so yeah, I know there's a possibility my leg WAS being pulled by at least one of these guys but I can vouch for the honesty of at least two of these people -- the science teacher and the Tornado joyrider.) One time, a formation of F-4s (6-8?) flew overhead of my high school during graduation ceremonies in 1987. I'm thinking they were Air Force Reserves or ANG (Ohio fighter wing). They probably flew overhead because one of the guys in the graduating class that year had been accepted into the Air Force Academy. The second time I saw the F-4, I watched a pair of RF-4C's fly over during the Dayton Air Show in 1990. They were probably the noisiest pair of fighters that flew overhead. They basically made one pass and that was it. At the same show, I saw a solo F-16 demo, the Blue Angels (all F-18As at the time), and an F-14B solo demo. I can remember being really impressed by the F-14B (with the F110 engine) and its maneuverability, the total control its aircrew had close to the ground. The F-16 DID accelerate faster but it also disappeared into the sky more often and my general impression was that "air show" speed was not its forte. The Blue Angels also impressed me by how close they flew to the ground AND by how slow they appeared to fly at times. I saw the Angels two more times when I lived in Chicago. What we didn't know then was that next year was the combat finale (Gulf War I) for the F-4 Phantom in US service. By 1992 (was it?), the bulk of the non-Wild Weasel models of the F-4 would be retired in US service. We talk about the retirement of the American F-4 recently but that was the QF-4 drone version ( end of 2016). Active duty/frontline planes, F-4Gs, retired in USAF/ANG service in 1996. There are a very limited number of operational F-4s in service now. Probably less than 200 in 5 (6?) air forces around the world now as we approach the 60th anniversary of the flight of the very first F-4 Phantom II -- May 27, 1958.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, Dan.

Absolutely brilliant interview, thank you so much for sharing this

@Aircrewinterview

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Eric.

Great interview. Thanks to you both 👍👍

@Aircrewinterview

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Gordon.

Excellent interview, many thanks!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Cheers.

Wonderful interview. Absolutely fascinating 🌟

Fantastic interview.

Fantastic interview, bright insight in flying. Well done!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much.

What a fascinating story... amazing man.

Another fantastic interview! What a gent!

@Aircrewinterview

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

VF-154 vet here, just a plane captain, but still proud to be a part of the Phantom's journey

Great video Mike with a super pilot,thanks

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Simon.

Excellent interview!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Keith Stewart thanks :)

Bloody fantastic interview

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Cheers Paul.

These are fantastic. Keep it up!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Pete.

Thanks!!!

Excellent, really great interview.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

Mike, another sterling interview and a fantastic account of an amazing career!!! How many types in his log book - sixty-how many !!! All but 3 of the F4 types flown....and he's flown from Leuchars, even little ole me has done that :-)

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks once again, Ian! I know a crazy amount of types and some of my favourite aircraft. Well that’s one up from me as I haven’t done anything like that.

Another cracking interview Mike ! 👍

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks again.

Great interview!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike.

Another great interview

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Tim.

Nice work

Thank you Sir. You are a cool man!!

Nice interview. Pretty cool story!

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks.

You can tell he is a gentleman Thank you for your service Jerry 👍 Yet, so very interesting that he is also retired in U.K. like retired USAF Colonel F-4 and A-10 driver Steve Ladd, interviewed in this program which I watched yesterday.

This is Jim Powell speaking. Just to add a note. From 1967-1969 I was in VF-154, the Black Knights. This officer was in VF-21 which was our sister squadron aboard USS Ranger. I was an AQ, which was a fire control technician, I worked on radar systems in the F4 Phantom. I was involved in the learning of the first AWG-10 radar system.

another great video.

Good interview. The old Nam jocks are the best to hear from.

Great video, as always - this channel should have many x the amount of views!:)

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Cheers! Hopefully,​ the channel will grow with the more content we put out. Thanks for your support :)

Thank You.

OMG! Thank you so much for interviewing this legend. Any chance of getting your hands on the cockpit audio of that dogfight?😏

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

You’re very welcome. I wish, that would have been brilliant to have!

Fantastic! It went by way too fast though. Very, very interesting stories! I loved every minute of it.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Cheers Dustin.

Love these vids I build mostly 1/48 scale jet aircraft and I try to build jets that have Had a air to air kill or something exciting in their career and these videos help me choose what I build. 👍🏼🤠🇨🇦 I seen another interview from a f4 Phantom pilot that use the topgun hit the brakes maneuver and it worked out for him.

@Aircrewinterview

2 жыл бұрын

I believe that was one of our interviews with Roy Macintyre;)

Interesting as usual....thanks Mike

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks David.

Wow the F3 ! I would haver never guessed that lol I like the F3 too, saw it many of times at RAF Leeming as an air cadet, I used to love the reverser bucket sound as it landed lol

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

I am a fan of variable geometry winged aircraft in general! That is a great noise.

@mkmdexplorationparanormal5610

6 жыл бұрын

Aircrew Interview yeah me too, the likes of F-14 the F1-11 etc, I absolutely love the FGR2 and SR71 and the EE Lighting and F14 , they just amaze me. TSR2 is always an amazing aircraft too but sadly not to be.

Very good one!

Very nice interview with a great man, should have ask how he ended up in Scotland

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

I believe he just stayed from his time at Leuchars. He now runs a B&B.

@ianmurning1408

5 жыл бұрын

Tour at RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland then met his future wife - the rest is history

Incredible

Two hundred and twenty one combat missions! Amazing.

Love it nice work !!

@Aircrewinterview

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers

Fantastic interview, another nice chap, im guessing ypur favourite aircraft is possibly the Phantom Mike ? It certainly is mine lol top stuff Mike, hugely appreciated these interviews, very unique ! :)

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Cheers Mike. Ha well it’s in my top ten but my favourite aircraft is the Tornado F3! I often get slated for that!

This is incredible!

Awesome Interview!! would love to see you get on an active duty F-15E or F-15C pilot from Lakenheath sometime if possible.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I would love to but I believe it is very difficult to get on base. It won’t stop me trying tho!

I highly recommend the book "Scream of Eagles" which details the creation of top Gun. The problem was the Navy essentially forgot or rejected everything they learned about dog fighting the Zero in WW2. In Korea, the Navy did very little dog fighting due to its Air/Ground focus. After that, the so called engineer whiz kids decided that dog fighting was outmoded due to the introduction of air to air missiles. So no one was trained to dog fight except the few f-8 drivers. That is why the kill ratio dropped to actually 2:1 in Vietnam, before top gun.

@mattjacomos2795

3 жыл бұрын

The F8 pilot's dogfight training was unoffical and the guys who were good at BFM didn't exactly share the knowlege, so TG was a way of institutionalizing the knowledge. Also, the book states that maintainance and handling were the main reasons the Sparrow was so unreliable.

@pontiacGXPfan

Жыл бұрын

One lesson is you can never trust the whiz kids

The F-4 was the cutting edge, state of the art fighter aircraft then. They were still in service when I was stationed at NAS JAX FLA '73>'77. U.S. NAVY veteran PO3

Very interesting interview . Thanks to both for an enjoyable hour.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Cheers Brian.

The OV10 and the Phantom F-4 always looked great.

Jerry is alert5 so he was the original Mavrick love to hear more about the original Top gun Stories love to hear about the Real Topgun stories. Jerry thank you for your Service and Defending our Country and our Freedom🦅🇺🇸. P-40 WarHawk flying Tiger 509th squadron is the jacket from Jimmy H Doolittle because my father moved him in here in Monterey California, my father was a Military Contractor truck mover. Today I still have the American ans china alliance P-40 WarHawk flying Tiger 509th squadron jacket its old,but I I bearly wear it because its old and peace of hostory,but made my own Topgun jacket 1 qith my FALLEN Hero Back patch to respect and honor to the five Military Branches, I have couple Squadron Super Hornet patches and Jamming Squadron patch, and two JSF patches on my Topgun jacket 1 Boeing jacket because to Respect and honor to my friends and FAMILIES that are with the Military Branches and some work with Boeing and NASA.

excellent

My first flight was a Cesna 150 in 1968 at 11 years old.... My mom's friend took me up and showed me the controls, how they worked and what they did, and then he took his hands off the yoke and said fly it..... He neglected to tell me that he had it trimmed for straight & level, so I grabbed the yoke to hold it still like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs....😱 He talked me through a few turns and changes of altitude and heading changes.... The first turn was to the right, and I gave it right rudder and slid it around to the right to the new heading he gave..... Then he told me come left to xxx course but to bank it like he had shown me..... I thought to myself, ok this is where I get even for the stalls and stuff and his little joke on handing off the bird by surprise❗😜❗ So after checking my airspace I turned the yoke 90°left with about 2 or 3 inches back and a little left rudder and did a wing over to level out about 500 feet low on the heading he had given me 90° to the left and looked at him and said, like that❓😎❓ He laughed and said, "I was just waiting to see what you'd do if you put it into a spin. I told him, "easy, let go of the yoke, you said it was trimmed to come back to straight and level on it's own"....😜 The next 15 minutes were spent on spin recovery, because not all planes have that...😎 All an all it was quite a day for an 11 year old❗😜❗

Fascinating

Excellent

@Aircrewinterview

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

Yankee Station CV-64 Veteran here, SEMPER FIDELIS.

The photo shown was of a T-34 Turno Mentor, Mr Beaulier was certainly referring to the piston engined powered version. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_T-34_Mentor. Great video series, Thank you.

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Ah my mistake. I will now know for next time, thanks.

What a great story!

In the late 70's I spent lots of time on Torry Pines and one evening an F-4 was leaving Miramar, full afterburners, and immediately the pilot shut the jet down and turned around. Looking up I saw something falling as it came spinning and crashed about 200 yards from me. It was the cockpit enclosure. I wonder if Jerry remembers the incident.

What a gent of a man👏🏻

Great story. Well done'

@Aircrewinterview

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Angel.

Another great story. It even includes the part were being married kills joy!

What a nice guy very entertaining