Former Royal Australian Air Force Hornet pilot and Fighter Combat Instructor Ray "Homer" Simpson joins me for the first of a two-part conversation covering one of the most detailed discussions of fighter aviation we've ever recorded.In Part 1 we explore Homer's journey into the RAAF after three atte…
10 Percent True - Tales from the Cockpit
by Steve Davies
Interviews and anecdotes from military pilots and aircrew from across the globe. As the rule says, so long as it's 10 percent true, you're allowed to tell the story! Head over to the 10 Percent True YouTube channel to listen and watch at the same time.
Latest Episodes
Get the full, ad-free episode here: https://www.10percenttrue.com/pricing-plans/list10PCT Episode #92 [CLIP]Former Royal Australian Air Force Hornet pilot Gary “Schlick” Skilton joins me to discuss life flying the F/A-18A Hornet during the 1990s.Before reaching fighters, Schlick spent three years fl…
What is it actually like to serve aboard a nuclear submarine?Former US Navy sonar operator Aaron Amick joins me to explain the reality of submarine warfare, from the training pipeline and sonar school to real Cold War patrols tracking Russian submarines.We discuss how sonar operators identify ships …
10PCT Episode #90This is an interview recorded as part of my research for Twenty Years at War - the second part of my series of coffee table books on the F-15E Strike Eagle: https://www.10percenttrue.com/product-page/tyaw-pre-orderFour F-15E veterans — “Deuce” Cooper, “Funkle” Esler, “NAILS” Ashmore…
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https://www.10percenttrue.com/pricing-plans/list10PCT EP89
P2 MeSo Harney and Mask StarkMask recounts his own ordeal on the ground, including encounters with local Libyans, an uncertain journey to Benghazi, and efforts to establish contact with coalition forces.
10PCT EP89 MeSo Harney and Mask Stark0:00 welcome to Mask and MeSo and episode preview 1:02 MeSo intro1:55 Mask intro3:22 background to the fateful deployment 5:40 initial 6 ship deployment ends in a bunch of diversions7:02 mission set(s)9:00 defining SCAR from the crew point of view10:42 geographic…
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10PCT EP88 – Dave “Khan” Carr | F-15 Eagle, F-16 Viper, Weapons School & Aggressors
Dave “Khan” Carr joins 10 Percent True to discuss an extraordinary fighter career flying both the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Viper.
…
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10PCT EP87 Marty “Pappy” Brogli – A-10 Desert Storm
Marty “Pappy” Brogli joins 10 Percent True to tell the story of flying the A-10 Warthog in Operation Desert Storm.
From Cold War preparation and the long deployment to the Gulf, …
EE Lightning P1B | 10 Percent True | EP84 – Part 2The restoration of the English Electric Lightning P1B reaches a major milestone as the fuselage emerges from storage for the first time in nearly 30 years. Blackie gives an extraordinary tour through the aircraft’s bizarre and brilliant engineering –…
This is the first episode of a new series we’re calling The Bullshit Detectorist. I’m joined by Starbaby Pietrucha, and the idea is simple—take some of the stuff you hear all the time about military aviation and see if it actually stands up. Stealth’s dead, drones have changed everything, low-freque…
Get the full episode here: https://www.10percenttrue.com/pricing-plans/listIn Episode 3, Benji Prefontaine takes you into the most demanding phase of his combat experience—flying the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard over Afghanistan in a crowded, chaotic coalition battlespace.With limited sensors, mi…
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10PCT EP86 P2 Benji Prefontaine
In Episode 2, Benji Prefontaine moves from early operations into real combat experience—flying the Dassault Mirage F1 in Africa before transitioning to carrier aviation in the Dassault-Breguet…
The rescue of the crew of DUDE 44, an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran, is one of the most complex and dangerous combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations in modern warfare. Retired USAF Colonel and Special Operations pilot Buck Walker breaks down how it happened – from the shootdown to the h…
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10PCT EP86 P1 – Benji Prefontaine
Chapters
0:00 Intro Teaser – M1.3 Corner Speed, Avoiding the Merge, Low Level
3:00 Welcome, Benji
4:15 Subscriber Question (T-Stoff) – Super Étendard Carrier Ops
10:35 The Hardest Flyi…
Cinco Hamilton | 10 Percent True | EP85Former USAF fighter pilot, F-35 test leader, and AI program director Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton joins the show to explain what artificial intelligence actually means for combat aviation. Drawing on his career flying the F-15C, standing up the MC-12 ISR platform, l…
10 Percent True Channel Update March 2026
Pinbag Shaw | 10 Percent True | EP83 Part 3In the final instalment of my conversation with Thomas “Pinbag” Shaw, we close out his Phantom career.From Cold War nuclear strike planning in Europe to flying large-force exercises at Nellis and combat-ready deployments in the Pacific, Pinbag walks us thro…
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Pinbag Shaw | 10 Percent True | EP83 Part 2
In Part Two of our conversation, Thomas “Pinbag” Shaw takes us operational.
From Korea to Germany, this is life in a Cold War Phantom squadron — where Victor Alert was real, nuclear…
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Pinbag Shaw | 10 Percent True | EP83 Part 1
Thomas “Pinbag” Shaw flew the F-4E Phantom II at a pivotal moment in USAF history.
Commissioned during the draft era, he entered Tactical Air Command just as the Air Force was absorbi…
Jif Paines | 10 Percent True | EP82Chapters
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In this episode, former RAF Harrier pilot and X-35B test pilot “Jif” Paines explains how the F-35B’s revolutionary STOVL flight control system was born.
From early Harrier night attack …