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Description
Get inside the head of one of America's most experienced MiG pilots, Lt Col Zettel, as he tells the thrilling tale of Constant Peg, a top secret US operation that wouldn't feel out of place in the plot of 'Top Gun'. At the height of the Cold War America illicitly obtained Russian Fighters, transported them to the Tonopah Test Range and pitted them against star US fighter pilots in simulated combat exercises. With controls labelled in Russian and the only spare parts being the ones they could salvage, the pilots who climbed into the MiGs accepted all of the risks associated with operating these aircraft.
Vivid accounts of training engagements put the reader right there in the cockpit, flying alongside the 'Red Eagles' as they trained the best pilots America had to offer. Historical photographs help paint the picture of an operation that took the US Air Force from its dismal performance in the Vietnam War to an unprecedented air-to-air kill ratio in Operation Desert Storm.
Table of Contents
Prologue – No shots taken
Getting there
Welcome to Nellis
'Up North' – Tonopah Test Range
Checking out in the MiG-21
Crashing and Burning . . . Figuratively!
The Routine
The Squadron
'Out of the pool, we're going home!'
Fur Balls and Cat Fights
The Crapper
T-38 and 'Alpha North'
USAF Fighter Weapons School and Topgun
Did I mention security?
'Sir, can he do that?'
'Flogger' Time
April Fools
It's been a blast!
Returning in the F-15
Epilogue – Desert Thunder – A Testament to the Value of Constant Peg
Product details
| Published | 06 Nov 2025 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 288 |
| ISBN | 9781472808578 |
| Imprint | Osprey Publishing |
| Illustrations | 10 b/w; 30 col |
| Series | General Aviation |
| Short code | GNA |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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