Original subtitles

- Getting in a jet makes me feel alive.

I'm here to become a naval aviator.

My whole life's trajectory has been to get to this point.

INSTRUCTOR Ocean 131, you’re clear for takeoff

- Sitting on the runway, lined up.

You're at max throttle,

you just hear the engine buzzing behind you.

The instructor says,

ready and back and you take your feet and

just let them off the brakes, and off you go.

And from there,

the next hour and a half of our lives,

it's like we teleport.

[Narrator] For the first time ever...

INSTRUCTOR Get a little G on it.

- Roger.

[Narrator] ...the US Navy has let cameras

document the Advanced Phase

of its elite fighter pilot training program.

- Give ‘em hell out there, man, as usual.

- Will do.

- Got him yet?

- Negative.

- He’s right off our nose.

- Got him, visual.

[Narrator] Where pilots learn the skills to be ready

for frontline combat.

- You show up to work every day so that when the

war happens, you win.

- Fight’s on.

[Narrator] From dogfighting...

- Take a shot if you have it.

- Fox 2.

[Narrator] ...to carrier landings.

- Do not get low and hit the ramp

[Narrator] Low-level flying...

- This is awesome

- It is pretty cool, isn’t it?

- It’s trippy

[Narrator] ...to precision bombing.

- Bullseye

- Hell, yeah!

[Narrator] In pursuit of their fighter pilot wings,

they’ll have to pass the most intense training

of their lives.

- You're gonna overbank

Pull, pull, pull, pull!

- I want my wings.

I've worked so hard for them.

- What up, big dog?

- We're all here to get our wings.

So in terms of dream,

I think I'm kinda like the threshold of living my dream.

- This is where I'm supposed to be.

This is what I was meant to do, and I love it.

[Narrator] But not all of them will make it.

- Damn it!

Look at your Gs

- Oh ♪

- Right out of the gate it will be an unsat.

- I dropped the ball.

- Woo baby, you like to die.

- I knew that coming here would be a challenge,

I just don't think I had any idea how tough and,

like, what kind of tough.

- Navy kinda needs an ocean,

so it's a little interesting to have a Navy base

here this far inland.

[railroad crossing bell]

The town of Meridian is small as Navy towns go.

It's always had a special place in my heart.

I came through as a student, coming back as a,

as a commanding officer.

It's kinda cool.

[pilot] 4,1, take off, single, 3,0.

Ronald, 12,3,0.

Take off, in order.

- Alright, welcome everybody.

We’re all here to train and to learn to be the best

aviators we can be.

It’s a heavy task, it’s a serious task,

but I’m excited for you, welcome to the Squadron.

[Narrator] Each year 150 students are accepted into

Naval Air Station Meridian for the Navy’s notoriously

difficult Advanced Fighter Training.

- There are certain students, when they show up here,

they're on top of the world,

they're on the way to their dream,

and an equal part of 'em, you know,

deer in the headlights like, this is gonna be tough.

[Narrator] Over 6 months...

- There you go. Ease the turn.

[Narrator] ...they'll face a series of grueling tests.

- Do a high start in the middle.

- Yes, sir.

Roger, ball.

- We're going to give you more information,

more data than you can possibly process,

and we’re gonna give it to you in a volume and speed

that you are not going to be capable of handling.

[Narrator] While a team of instructors,

almost all of them with combat experience,

grade their every move.

- Raise your hand if you think you flew well today.

That’s a good self-assessment.

- Yes, ma’am.

[Brad] My job as the Commanding Officer of the Squadron

is to take those students from that kid

who can fly around at 200 knots,

okay, and I gotta make him the kid who can fly around

at Mach 1 with weapons strapped to him and enemies

shooting at him.

This is the transition syllabus that gets them there.

The dream is to go be in Top Gun, wear the patch,

this is how you do it.

You come to my squadron, that's how you get there.

[Narrator] It takes many years of training,

deployments, and combat experience to reach the

Navy’s Top Gun training program.

But this is where that journey begins,

and every month a new class arrives of young pilots.

- This.

[Narrator] With big ambitions.

- So our students come to us with a variety of backgrounds

and a variety of personalities.

[barking]

- Henry.

[Justin] Some find themselves a little bit more aggressive,

some find themselves a little bit more humble,

perhaps shy or introverted.

- I just have a tendency to talk to much.

I’m working on it, but I can’t help it.

- I love to sing and I paint.

Yeah, I like the arts!

[Justin] At the end of the day,

if you bring performance,

[gunshot]

that's gonna carry your reputation greater and further

than anything else.

- Woo hoo hoo!

My name is Austin Claggett,

I’m a 1st Lieutenant in the Marine Corps.

My family definitely knows me as "Crazy Austin."

I'll just do the things that no one else would dare do.

Woo, hoo, hoo.

I am definitely married to the military right now,

and it is my priority.

I'm looking to go to the Marine Corp's equivalent

of Top Gun.

Chasing an “unrealistic” goal, should be the goal.

[Justin] You know, coming in with maybe a bit of swagger

and a bit of excitement is not atypical,

but I think once everyone has been through

their first flight, and they see how hard it is,

they see how fast it is,

they are in for a rude awakening.

[♪ intense music playing]

[Narrator] For their first Advanced Phase exercise,

students have relocated to a remote base in

the Californian desert,

where they will get their first taste

of strike bombing.

[explosion]

- Good morning, sir. - Good morning.

Claggett, everything good with you?

- Yes, sir. Good to see you.

- Good to see you again.

[Narrator] Tomorrow, the students will have bombs

strapped to their aircraft for the first time.

[radio] Park up first, you guys.

[Narrator] They'll be graded on both how

safely they fly,

and on the accuracy of their bomb drops.

- Strike 41-01, Charlie Delta 1-1 call sign,

Hammer 1-1 tactical call sign.

[Austin] Strike is dangerous.

The second you start dropping bombs,

you're in advanced.

You're no longer learning the basics,

you're now learning tactical mission sets.

- Join for the need work card,

Strike 40 101, Charlie Delta,

21, 24, Hammer, 21 to 24.

[Narrator] Ahead of tomorrow’s graded bombing event,

students have just one flight to see the range for

the first time and learn the high-risk maneuvers

they will need to execute.

[Steph] Strike, it's a very intense chunk of the training,

and they, they want it to be like that.

- I think we're still working runway 2-6, if I'm not mistaken.

[Steph] It's an intense mission set that most of us are gonna

be involved in, in the fleet, for real.

I want to be able to do it well.

- Alright, let's do it.

- Are you nervous about today? Or are you excited?

- Nervous.

But let's go out there, have some fun.

- Both, for sure. - A bit of both.

- I'd say.

That's like every flight, though, honestly.

- Have a good flight, anyway.

[Narrator] The students have spent the past 6 months in the

Intermediate training phase,

learning the basics of flying a high-performance jet.

But this is a huge step up.

[Austin] Canopy.

[Narrator] And instructors won’t clear them safe to fly

with bombs unless they’re satisfied each student can

handle the pressure.

- It can feel scary when you're doing something for

the first time.

There's so many things that could go wrong.

[tower] El Centro Tower Charlie Delta 11 T6 ready for departure.

INSTRUCTOR Alright, let's go

AUSTIN Roger that

[Brad] This job comes with risk.

This is not a flying club.

If you make a mistake in this business,

it is possible that you don't come back.

INSTRUCTOR The target will be off the nose in 15 miles

[Narrator] The students deploy to the bombing range

in groups of four,

flying in tactical formation, just 50 feet apart.

INSTRUCTOR OK, this is a little bit tight

INSTRUCTOR Alright, smaller corrections

INSTRUCTOR Let’s just focus on the form flying

- Yes, sir

[Narrator] The risks of student pilots flying in close

formation is something all instructors take seriously.

INSTRUCTOR Actually yeah, we're still tight.

Just ease yourself away

INSTRUCTOR Slow with the throttle, line up the helmets

INSTRUCTOR Alright, that's nice right there

INSTRUCTOR Wiggle the fingers, wiggle the toes

INSTRUCTOR It helps a lot in strike

- Yes sir.

INSTRUCTOR You are 1 mile south of the target

[Narrator] Flying in Austin's group are Steph,

Carissa, and Spenser.

INSTRUCTOR 250 is a good speed, manage your speed

SPENSER Copy

INSTRUCTOR My controls here for a second

INSTRUCTOR Alright, I want you to look down

- Yes, sir.

INSTRUCTOR And find the target, OK, can you see it over there?

SPENSER Negative yet

SPENSER Oh I think I got it

Yes, sir

INSTRUCTOR Alright, that's the target

INSTRUCTOR Are you ready for the controls back?

SPENSER Yes, sir

INSTRUCTOR You have the controls

SPENSER I have controls

[Narrator] For this dry run it’s all about staying calm

and in control.

Instructors need to see the students can communicate

clearly in the cockpit, that they can fly the attack run

precisely and above all, that they can hold their nerve and

stay in control while diving at the ground at over

400 miles an hour.

RANGE CONTROL 7 knots true

RANGE CONTROL Winds are calm

INSTRUCTOR Alright, here we go

INSTRUCTOR I'll give you the controls back

STEPH I have controls

INSTRUCTOR You have controls

(SUB [Steph] OK.

[Narrator] First up is Steph Harris,

who’s been impressive in early training.

STEPH Breaking high pattern

STEPH Hammer 4, in heading 143

INSTRUCTOR This is looking pretty healthy

INSTRUCTOR Hard pull! Hard pull!

INSTRUCTOR Get the nose up!

INSTRUCTOR Nice

STEPH Hammer 4, off safe

INSTRUCTOR Make your call

SPENSER Hammer 2, breaking high pattern

INSTRUCTOR There we go, that's looking nice

SPENSER Hammer 2, off safe

INSTRUCTOR Alright, power up

INSTRUCTOR And then you will accelerate going

downhill for sure

AUSTIN Yes, sir

[Narrator] Last to perform the maneuver is Austin.

[Austin] Flying is dangerous,

and the type of flying we do is dangerous.

And the margin for error and time to think about

it is none, and none.

INSTRUCTOR Alright, let's go

[Austin] And I love that.

AUSTIN Hammer 1, breaking high pattern

AUSTIN Hammer 1, in heading 115

[Austin] That first roll in,

that was the first time that I've been scared.

INSTRUCTOR Hard Pull! Hard Pull!

INSTRUCTOR Make sure you say ‘off safe’

AUSTIN Hammer 1, off safe

INSTRUCTOR How are you feeling up there?

AUSTIN Sir, looking at the ground like that

for the first time

is, ah

way different than the simulators

INSTRUCTOR I thought you were fighting it a little bit

AUSTIN Yeah, that wasn't nice

[jet engines power down]

- I'm used to being out of my element, that's home,

but I'm not used to having a physiological response of fear.

This was more scared than I've been in a jet so far.

- It's fast. Really fast.

- Hey, how was it? - We did it.

- You did it.

- It was awesome.

Which is how it goes, where you're like you're nervous,

you're nervous, you're nervous, and then you get to do it,

you come back, you're like, alright, that was fun.

- Apologies to both of you.

My form is a little choppy, it’s been quite a while.

- If I was in charge, I would fail me.

- I don't know.

The first flight, it's not good, usually,

because it's all new.

- Yeah, that's fair.

- Yeah, alright I'm gonna wait out in the hallway

for the instructors.

- Okay, I'll join you.

Can't wait to get roasted.

[Narrator] Even though this was dry run,

if there are any doubts about a student’s ability to perform,

they’ll be held back from tomorrow’s

live bombing exercise.

- Somebody described flight school one time as taking the

driver's test every day,

and you know the grader is brutal.

[Narrator] Instructors note the speed each student

attacked the target.

- Good job with airspeed control. You didn't get too fast.

You had just enough power.

[Narrator] That they kept a safe separation

from other aircraft.

- Make sure we're never highlighting our buddies that

are in a bad position.

- But I still think you need to turn just a little bit earlier.

[Steph] OK.

[Narrator] And, most importantly,

that they were flying safely.

- Things are coming faster, you're doing 100 knots more,

you're lower to the ground, you're under a lot more G,

and your brain starts to fall behind the airplane.

So a lot of your position calls were late,

and I'm having to prompt you.

One time lead had to prompt us.

Some of those calls were hammer one,

two prior, 1.1.6.

It's just like a five-second radio call,

and the guy is just dying,

waiting for you to stop talking so that he can figure

out where he's going.

That could have gotten pretty gnarly,

and it would have been mass chaos trying to get

that thing back on the rails.

[Narrator] Austin's errors have affected his grades.

- Well, thanks for your time, sir.

- Sweet Claggett, good flying man - Thanks a lot.

[Narrator] But he’s been cleared to progress to the

bombing stage with the rest of his classmates.

- Cool. Well, we'll see you tomorrow

[Steph] Alright. Sounds good. Yeah, see you tomorrow.

- In my mind, I was like,

I'm not surprised if he's like,

you're close, but no cigar.

Coming back from that first one,

I was definitely caught off guard.

And talking to the other guys,

they seemed like that didn't really happen to them,

so I sort of fell behind the pack.

And I will say, uh,

I'm gonna jack things up if I don't fix that,

so, there it is, you know.

[Susan] He's a good dude.

He's gonna be awesome.

He kinda reminds me of "Goose" from Top Gun.

- Goose?

Really?

She said that?

Goose dies.

I hope there's not any similarities.

[Narrator] For many of the students.

[Spenser] Hey Carissa.

[Narrator] Becoming a fighter pilot is in their blood.

- I grew up in the military.

My dad was a Marine Corps officer for 31 years.

So my grandpa was in the Navy before that.

- My dad was an A-7 pilot.

He winged out of Meridian in 1972.

So I grew up around flying.

It didn’t put any pressure on me,

I think it made me more excited knowing that he has

been here dropping little practice bombs like

I'm gonna do.

- 3:21.

[Narrator] But for Austin...

- 3:24.

[Narrator] ...the idea of joining the military was

all his own.

- No one in the family is in the military.

But being a fighter pilot has been one of my

lifelong dreams.

There's some photos of nine-year-old me

up on an F-18 looking into the cockpit,

and it's clearly sparked something inside of me.

- Go.

[Austin] You know it’s crazy to look at that photo

because I had no idea that this was a possibility,

I just thought it was super cool.

- I'm crazy proud of him.

Not very many people in the world get to fly fast jets,

and the fact that he is willing to go out there and

risk his life for our country is special.

On the flip side, I'm terrified.

[Narrator] For the first time,

for these trainee fighter pilots,

their jets are being armed.

- It is for sure stressful.

We're pointing down at the ground.

We're doing 450, 500 miles an hour.

The time to impact is measured in, seconds.

Maybe some people will struggle a little bit here for

the first time.

So, yes, we're, we're definitely keeping an eye on

them much more closely.

- Any problems in the dive, pull back as hard as you can.

If you can't,

get the nose pointed away from the ground.

Man ejection altitudes 200 feet in the 10.

[Narrator] Now they’re not just being graded

on their flying,

but also their bombing accuracy.

[Carissa] You spend so much time just learning how to fly the

airplane that all of a sudden,

when they're asking you to do something while

flying the airplane, your brain kind of explodes.

- We've got 20 seconds spacing in between the four of us.

You're gonna see me start to execute my descent

through the sky.

[Narrator] This is also the stage when the reality

of combat begins to set in.

- When students check in here,

one of the things we talk about is what

we are preparing to do in this business,

which is ending a human being’s life.

If you don't wrestle with the ethics of that,

then you're not ready to do this job.

- Make sure you got the charge in there with the Cotter pin.

- I've always been a believer in what this country stands for.

I've always felt very confident that the orders I would be

given would be for the betterment of society and

hopefully for our troops.

[Steph] You always wonder if you can do it.

When it comes in my face, am I going to be able

to kill somebody?

I don't know.

- I know what I signed up for, and I'm okay with that,

and I'm proud of that.

Like I will do whatever is needed of me and asked me,

and they do a great job here of training us to make sure

we are ready for whatever is ahead.

But I'm still learning how to fly right now,

so I've got a lot of other things to think about.

[Susan] Are you excited about today?

[Austin] Yeah, I'm more excited about today.

- Yeah? A little less nervous?

Gonna be curious about whether or not you're scared

coming in again.

- Yeah, the first time was a bit steep.

I was like, that's a lot of ground.

- There's a whole lot of ground.

[Narrator] Today, Austin needs to show he can overcome

his fear and keep up with his classmates.

AUSTIN Ready on the front

CARISSA Mask on in the front

SPENSER Take off checks complete

INSTRUCTOR Ready in back

STEPH Clear for takeoff. Charlie Delta 01

INSTRUCTOR Now, let's start working

INSTRUCTOR Get that throttle up,

we’ve got a lot of work to do yet

AUSTIN Yes, sir

INSTRUCTOR Target’s off the nose 12 miles

[Narrator] There are three stages to a perfect bomb drop.

Students need to make exact radio calls as they

enter a steep dive from 8,000 feet.

They need to release their bombs precisely at

the right moment.

Then the hardest part,

they need to pull up sharply before they reach the

altitude limit of 3,000 feet,

but not too sharply or excessive G forces risk

damaging the jet.

RANGE CONTROL Be advised

RANGE CONTROL Target is hot

INSTRUCTOR Here we go. Strike time

[Narrator] Austin is the first to drop.

INSTRUCTOR Let's do it

AUSTIN Yes, sir

AUSTIN Hammer 1, breaking high pattern

AUSTIN Target appears clear

INSTRUCTOR Relax

INSTRUCTOR Gotta get you in the zone

RANGE CONTROL 125 feet

AUSTIN Hammer 1, off safe

INSTRUCTOR A little more G

AUSTIN Yes, sir

INSTRUCTOR Are you looking back at where the bomb hits?

AUSTIN Not yet, sir.

I don't think I have the wherewithal yet

INSTRUCTOR Yeah, you do

INSTRUCTOR As soon as we start pulling into the turn

up to the pattern

AUSTIN Yeah

INSTRUCTOR Take a glance

[Narrator] Next up is Spenser Neel.

INSTRUCTOR You're up kid

SPENSER Yes, sir

SPENSER Hammer 2, heading in

INSTRUCTOR Don't forget to trim

SPENSER Yes, sir

RANGE CONTROL 105 feet

INSTRUCTOR Pull to about a 4.8

INSTRUCTOR Harder, little harder

INSTRUCTOR Nice

SPENSER Hammer 2, off safe

CARISSA Hammer 3, breaking high pattern

CARISSA Target appears clear

RANGE CONTROL 102 feet

INSTRUCTOR That's a good 4.8, looking good

CARISSA Hammer 3, off safe

STEPH Hammer 4, breaking high pattern

RANGE CONTROL 87 feet

AUSTIN Hammer 1, heading in

[Narrator] Every hit is recorded.

RANGE CONTROL 73 feet

SPENSER Hammer 2, heading in

[Narrator] And the closer the students strike...

RANGE CONTROL 60 feet

[Narrator] ...the more points they’ll get in

their final grades.

INSTRUCTOR You're looking good

RANGE CONTROL 49 feet

INSTRUCTOR Nice, you're dialing it in

CARISSA Woo!

STEPH Hammer 4, heading in

SPENSER Hammer 2, heading 143

RANGE CONTROL 20 feet

INSTRUCTOR Bam!

SPENSER Wooo!

INSTRUCTOR Damn it!

INSTRUCTOR We gotta go up to Lame Duck

- What happened, sir?

INSTRUCTOR Look at your G's

SPENSER Oh ♪♪♪♪

[Narrator] Spencer has pushed the jet beyond its

safe G limit.

SPENSER Hammer 2, headed to Lame Duck

[Narrator] And now must fly to a holding altitude known

as Lame Duck,

safely above the rest of the students.

INSTRUCTOR Yeah, you had a strong pull right on

the safe escape

INSTRUCTOR And then you just yanked one little

pull too hard

INSTRUCTOR And that's what trumped it up

[Justin] If you should happen to pull even for an instant,

anything above the 6.5Gs,

the jet is considered overstressed and therefore,

you can't continue to practice.

You gotta go home.

SPENSER Man, I'm bummed

INSTRUCTOR It happens, man

SPENSER I know, but

I was having a good time

[Narrator] Back down in the formation.

INSTRUCTOR Position call?

AUSTIN Hammer 1, abeam 2.2

[Narrator] Austin appears to have overcome his fear and

is about to drop his sixth bomb.

AUSTIN Hammer 1, heading 118

AUSTIN Target appears clear

RANGE CONTROL You were 19 feet at ten

RANGE CONTROL Bullseye

AUSTIN Hell, yeah

INSTRUCTOR Remember, 6.6 is our number, right?

AUSTIN Yes sir

AUSTIN Oh ♪♪♪♪

INSTRUCTOR I have controls

AUSTIN You have controls

INSTRUCTOR Hammer 1, heading to Lame Duck. Overstress

[Narrator] Austin now also has to go up to Lame Duck.

For both him and Spenser, their flights are over.

SPENSER I apologize, sir

AUSTIN Oh, I'm sorry, sir

[Narrator] While the rest of their class finish the mission.

Spenser and Austin must return to base to

face the music.

[Austin] When we walk from the plane, it's a silent walk.

There's no talking about what happened during the flight.

I was definitely a little bit tensed up.

[Spenser] As soon as I pulled 6.7,

I just heard that disappointed dad voice in

the back seat,

and it just, it broke my heart.

- It happens, it happens to a lot of people.

It happens to you guys usually like F-18 pilots,

because they're used to being able to go all the way

back to their lap.

You know, and this jet is just super sensitive.

[Spenser] The thing that sucked for me is when you said it,

I was like, I feel like I just let down like my dad,

you were like, I could like hear the disappointment and

I was like, flying home, and then kind of got in my

head a little bit.

- These are all learning points, right?

So, um, I would say now we both know because this is my

first over-stress with a student but don't beat yourself up.

- Right. - We'll debrief all this stuff.

- Yes, sir.

- Oh, no.

[Austin] It was going well.

I dropped six bombs,

snatched the stick, and our limit is 6.5.

I hit 6.6.

- Oh, just barely.

- That's the worst number you could have.

- Dude, 6.6.

- At least it wasn't too bad of an overstress.

[Narrator] Each overstressed jet will be temporarily taken

out of action while engineers meticulously check for any

underlying structural damage.

- My mistake was I didn’t get tight enough...

- How many G’s did you pull?

- Say that again, sir.

- How many did you pull?

- 6.7.

- Okay!

- Nice.

[Narrator] While the students that overstress

their jets wait to hear their fate.

- 47, 54, 42.

- What was after 47?

[Narrator] The rest of the class compares results.

- 108. - Oh, God.

- 61. - Alright, that’s not great.

- Damn, killed it. - I know.

[Narrator] Steph came in top of the class.

[Steph] Woo man, look at this. Look at this.

- I know it’s crazy. - OK.

[Justin] Stephanie's style is one of always trying to

find that edge that's going to make her better.

And it is one of the more important qualities

in a fighter pilot.

[Steph] Hot diggity dog.

- This one will be the overstress pull out.

We're driving too low.

How do we not overstress the jet?

Do a normal safe escape, right?

[Narrator] Austin and Spenser have passed, just...

but they’ll have to up their game in the next flight

to be cleared to fly solo.

- So the next flight,

don't beat yourself up because if you overthink this,

that'll make you mess up something else.

That's about all I got.

- Alright, sir. - Cool?

- Thank you for your time. - Nice work.

- Alright, I'll get it on the next one.

Good toss, man.

That first flight, I think I got the most scared out of

everyone, which is really weird for me.

- We've gotten a lot better from the first flight, for sure,

even if today wasn't the smoothest.

[Austin] Yeah.

[Steph] We're all so unique.

I love them.

I love them so much,

it's been a really good crew to be with.

There's been a lot of bonding moments.

Then also like the nitty-gritty,

I don't feel good,

I feel frustrated, I'm upset, and I'm giving this my all,

and I'm not getting it.

- Like feeling the Gs, like my brain slowed down.

[Austin] In the, you know, where we take off our gear

I'm getting undressed and I'm trying to gauge,

like, alright, like,

how's this one gonna shake out because I

overstressed the aircraft.

So I was like, I don't know.

- Then you kinda talk it out and you get there together.

- As you progress,

it's definitely a crawl, walk, run method,

as they call it, except sometimes it is just...

- There's no walk, there’s no crawling or walking.

[Dylan] It's just straight to the run.

[Spenser] They say crawl, walk.

You're in the crawl phase.

Really?

[Dylan] Yeah. If this is the crawl, then.

[Spenser] What's the run?

[♪ upbeat music playing]

[announcer] Good evening, everyone.

Happy 4th of July!

[Brad] These parties are awesome.

I believe that a squadron who does this together fights

well together because they know how to be a unit.

There is unity, and this builds that.

Students, when you show up to work every day,

you need to get good so that when the war happens,

we sleep soundly because you win.

Alright?

[cheering]

- This doesn't look very serious, but it is.

It's important.

We worked hard all week.

Students failed events, right?

But then you come here, you let your hair down.

I firmly believe in that,

tale as old as time, work hard, play hard,

I believe in that.

But there's a reason for it,

the reason that we play together hard is because

then you're a unit when life is hard.

And you know, if somebody starts shooting back,

it's gonna be hard.

Some of these guys won't come back.

You gotta be tight.

[Narrator] Tomorrow, students face their biggest

challenge so far, a test known as

"Safe For Solo."

If they pass, they'll be cleared to fly the bombing run

on their own,

without guidance from an instructor in the back seat.

[Austin] I got told that I'm laissez-faire in details

like this, I need to step it up.

Base, is it still 29 on the comm card?

[Spenser] Base, hangar 40 at 29.

[Narrator] With so much riding on the next test,

Austin and his classmates spend the night studying.

- Tower frequency?

- Tower, 3602 or 3402.

[Austin] It's like doing a play.

You know, we're learning lines for a play.

In that way, you have to have the script down before

you do the shoot.

That's what this accomplishes.

- On this one printer,

lies the fate of the entire det (detachment)

- Dude, if it ran out of ink?

- Don't even say that

- Where'd you want to do this?

We could do it over here, I guess.

Yeah.

- We could do it in the courtyard.

[Austin] Hammer 1-2 in heading 112.

It's gonna happen so fast,

there's no time for learning out there.

Hammer 1-2 off safe.

- Hammer 1-1 past 2.3.

[Austin] Hammer 1-2 past 2.1.

[♪ "Taps" playing]

[Austin] As we were.

Hammer 1-2, off safe.

Off target, rendezvous, one in sight.

- Hey, what's up? Good, how are you?

- Nervous, for sure. - Why are you nervous?

- This is the safe for solo. - You got this.

[Narrator] On this final,

Safe for Solo test the bar is high.

[Spenser] Now, the instructor is not going to teach.

They're just gonna be more a safety observer.

Just to see if you, you're good to go by yourself.

[Narrator] For both Spenser and Austin,

their overstress in the previous flight means they’ll

be under particularly close scrutiny.

AUSTIN Hammer 1-4 set

Airspeed 100

150, flaps

Gear up.

[Justin] There will be students that don't make it through.

That despite their best efforts and ours,

they just do not make the grade.

INSTRUCTOR A real nice position here

INSTRUCTOR OK, this is a good distance right here.

Bearing looks pretty good

- Yes, sir

INSTRUCTOR I think they were saying one of

Neel’s problems is

flying cruise

INSTRUCTOR Yeah, he looks like he's doing pretty good

INSTRUCTOR Yeah

[Narrator] This is one of the most important flights

of the student's careers so far.

RANGE CONTROL All aircrafts in sight, you are clear

INSTRUCTOR Alright

INSTRUCTOR Let's do it

- Yes, sir

SPENSER Hammer 2-2, in heading 150

RANGE CONTROL 3 Bullseye

INSTRUCTOR Sweet

- Woo!

SPENSER Hammer 2-2, off safe

INSTRUCTOR Good hit

SPENSER Perfect

INSTRUCTOR Yup, nice job

INSTRUCTOR Alright, start working it in

AUSTIN Hammer 1-4, approaching 2.2

AUSTIN Hammer 1-4, in heading 115

INSTRUCTOR Brother, that’s a low drop

INSTRUCTOR If we go low again, dude

INSTRUCTOR We’re going home

INSTRUCTOR What did you see on the HUD on that recovery?

AUSTIN Sir, I've been pickling (dropping) at 3,100 each time.

INSTRUCTOR I’m watching the HUD,

we pickled at 2.6 on that one.

AUSTIN Sorry, sir

[Narrator] During the bombing run,

Austin must stay above 3,000 feet.

In combat he’ll be dropping much larger bombs and below

that altitude there’s a danger shrapnel from the

blast could hit the jet.

INSTRUCTOR Alright, let’s take that one more time

AUSTIN Yes, sir

AUSTIN Hammer 1-4, breaking high pattern

AUSTIN Hammer 1-4, in heading 115

INSTRUCTOR Slow it down

RANGE CONTROL 17 feet

RANGE CONTROL Bullseye

AUSTIN Wooooo!

INSTRUCTOR Low drop

INSTRUCTOR Abort

AUSTIN Roger that, sir

INSTRUCTOR We're going home

AUSTIN Yes, sir

[Austin] Dropping low bombs is dangerous,

so I'm riding a thin wire.

[Susan] Hey, how was it?

You don't look as excited as I thought you would've.

- Well I dropped at 2,900 and he was already saying

that my passes were like low on altitude,

and he's like,

you do that again like we're out of here.

So I, I don't know what's gonna happen.

- Good luck. - Thanks.

[Susan] No problem. This is a pretty critical event.

If they don't pass this,

most of the time, they don't, they don't get out.

Like, they don't get out to the fleet.

[Narrator] Students have a nervous wait to find out

if they're cleared Safe For Solo.

- Overall, I thought it was pretty nice.

The bombing pattern was good.

Your comms were good.

I'm, I’m really happy with it.

So you’re safe for solo.

Congrats.

- Happy flying with you. - Yeah, have fun.

- I didn't know if I was going to pass or not,

but that's how it is every time.

You never know, you know.

- Hey dude, proud of ya. - Thanks.

- Nice job.

I think it's like stressing you out to try to

see everything and still fly.

That's just uh, that's just how it goes sometimes.

But we can't have multiple drops where we're

dropping low, alright.

There's a lot of good things about this flight,

but we have to trim that up for this to be a safe for solo.

- So...

It will be an unsat (fail)

- You've got to pass the bar on every single flight,

or else I have to have a very difficult conversation with

that student because I can't send them on to the next flight,

to the next stage,

to the next squadron until they're above that minimum bar.

They have to be.

I owe it to their moms and dads.

If they're going to hurt themselves out there,

I gotta protect them.

- No one wants to fail a flight,

but uh it's sometimes the best way to learn.

[Narrator] Austin's failure means he must re-sit the test.

[Austin] Hey, good luck out there.

[Narrator] For now, he can only watch as his classmates

fly their first solo bombing mission.

[Austin] My lifelong dream is to be a proficient pilot and

uh, if I don't stay on my game, I deservingly,

will not get my wings.

[Marcus] You know you watch movies,

and you think it's all Tom Cruise and Top Gun.

Reality is that you're a 25 year old kid just

trying to find your way.

- So when’s your next flight? - Monday.

- Do you think you’re ready?

‘HOT CAKES’ Fox 2

‘MAGMA’ It’s not working, we’re just getting shot, shot, shot

ANDREW Dang it

- I think they think I'm a hippie,

so when I was like, "I'm gonna join the Marine Corps."

STEPH That was so cool

- Everyone was like, "What?"

- Probably won’t fly this plane for a long time and

possibly ever again.

- You’re just looking to get to the bottom of the situation

because it’s a dangerous business.

[Andrew] Most people would strongly dissuade trying

to have a kid in flight school.

- So unique upbringing, uh being adopted.

- Take the shot if you have it

- I felt like I was chosen.

[Micah vomiting]

- Did you have air sickness?

[Justin] For Carissa, it’s that make or break situation.

[Carissa] Working harder than I’ve ever worked in my life and

it not being enough is like so painful.

- I’ve been having like stress dreams, cockpit related.

[Justin] He basically forgot the most important thing about

being a pilot, which is flying the plane.

- I am just really proud of you.

- I want to be a good dogfighter.

-Now you're just showing off.

- Congratulations, you have earned these wings.