This week’s episode was recorded live at King Mackerel’s Beach Tavern Bar & Grill in Moorehead City, NC, right after the historic Harrier Sundown Ceremony at Cherry Point. In Segment 1, call sign Ag—a Texas Aggie and former Harrier XO—takes you on an unforgettable journey crossing the Atlantic to Desert Storm. From a midnight “Casablanca” goodbye at Cherry Point to dangerous night tanking with KC‑10s, metal-to-metal probe contact, a thunderstorm with St. Elmo’s fire, and a tense close ID with an Israeli E‑2, Ag’s story is a masterclass in nerve, precision, and naval aviation under pressure.
Segment 2 shifts to DC-style storytelling with Derek from dcartworks.net, the artist behind stunning 3D metal squadron patches, Harrier bottle openers, and custom whiskey glasses. He shares a heart-stopping Afghanistan emergency airdrop in the Korangal Valley—jumping over 16 bundles to fix a ramp/door issue, realizing he’s three feet from the edge with no tether, and facing Taliban fire below. Plus, we uncover how D.C. drove updated tactics and seeker-equipped bombs that prevent the guesswork Harrier pilots endured. Tune in—for service, art, and stories that will stop your heart.

Bonk, Top Gun, Marine MAWTS-1 and Test Pilot Stories kick off with him bobbing in the Pacific after less than 500 flight hours in total flight time! Actually, that’s just the warmup.

This week on So There I Was, Fig and RePete sit down with Bonk, a former Test Pilot School graduate, Top Gun instructor, and MAWTS pilot whose career somehow became more insane every decade.

One minute he’s failing eye exams. Consequently, he almost misses aviation entirely. The next minute he’s disconnecting A-4 flight controls in flight and wondering if this was really the best career choice.

Then things get weird.

Bonk talks about ending up in the water early in his career. Furthermore, he explains what happens when you suddenly discover the ocean is now your office. There are stories about VMFA-531, absurd amounts of flight time, and the strange reality of becoming “the old guy” while still doing incredibly dumb fighter pilot things.

Wait, what?

At one point, Bonk casually explains flying through an afterburner plume because he heard it. Heard it. Not saw it. Heard it.

Naturally, that turns into a discussion about air combat maneuvering, test flying, and the tiny margin between “legendary story” and “aviation mishap report.”

The episode also dives into:

• Top Gun and MAWTS culture
• Test Pilot School insanity
• Zero-G flights
• Engine testing
• Why Boards of Inquiry can ruin your week
• The origin of the callsign “Bonk”
• The strange process of translating fighter pilot language into something normal humans understand

This episode feels like sitting at the bar after a squadron reunion while somebody keeps saying, “No seriously… this actually happened.”

And somehow, every story gets crazier.

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