Brigadier General Micah “Zeus” Fessler shares stories about flying the F-15 and F-22, traces Colorado fighter aviation from early biplanes to the F-16, and today's homeland defense mission.

In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with “Zeus” about the aircraft, missions, training, and people that shaped his military career, including combat operations, Weapons School, and the Colorado Air National Guard. From the 120th Observation Squadron’s early Jennys to Buckley’s ongoing alert mission, Micah offers a wide-ranging look at fighter aviation and the community behind it. This one is going to be cool!

What you'll hear:

• Why Buckley has remained on alert since 9/11 and how Colorado supports the defense of NORAD/NORTHCOM.
• How Colorado Air National Guard aviation grew from early biplanes at high elevation to Block 30 F-16s.
• Why the Viper remains a flexible, high-demand aircraft for air-to-air, close air support, and emerging drone defense missions.
• "Zeus" explains the discipline, radar work, stick-and-rudder flying, and debrief culture that shaped him as a fighter pilot.
• How one loud, eventful training flight in Alaska turned into a fighter pilot call sign.
• What changed with stealth, sensor fusion, battle management, and fifth-generation tactics.
• A memorable F-22 sortie involving ISIS targets, F-16s, tankers, command-and-control aircraft, and Russian air activity.
• How citizen airmen preserve deep experience while serving both overseas missions and local Colorado communities.
• Colorado aviation heritage, the 120th Fighter Squadron, Minute Men demonstration team, and the legacy of service connected to Wings’ newest aircraft—a Thunderbird F-16D.
• "Zeus" encourages young people to believe in themselves, control what they can control, and accept help along the way.

Learn More:

• Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
• Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
• Subscribe and leave a review to support the show

This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

Air Force veteran Art Elser reveals what it took to fly low, slow, and exposed as a forward air controller during the Vietnam War.

In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with former forward air controller Art Elser about flying more than 400 combat missions in the Cessna O-2A Skymaster and O-1E Bird Dog. From directing air support over the Ho Chi Minh Trail to helping Special Forces teams under fire, Elser offers a personal account of aviation, fear, courage, responsibility, and the long journey home. This one is going to be cool!

What you’ll hear:

• Inside the O-2 Skymaster: How a civilian aircraft became a flying observation post, radio relay, and target marker
• The forward air controller mission: Why FAC pilots remained low over the battlefield after faster aircraft departed
• O-1 Bird Dog vs. O-2 Skymaster: How the aircraft differed in handling, performance, and suitability for remote airstrips
• Marking targets under fire: How Elser used white-phosphorus “Willie Pete” rockets to guide attacking aircraft
• Over the Ho Chi Minh Trail: Searching for trucks, supply areas, choke points, and hidden movement beneath the jungle
• Night operations: Using starlight scopes, Blind Bat flare ships, B-57 Canberras, and F-4 Phantoms to find targets in darkness
• Becoming “Jake 44”: How Elser built personal relationships with the Special Forces teams who depended on him
• Courage and coming home: What Elser learned about fear, character, loss, and carrying the war’s memories into civilian life

Learn More:

• Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
• Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
• Subscribe and leave a review to support the show

This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

NASA’s RAVEN aircraft is helping researchers explore one of aviation’s biggest next steps: electric vertical takeoff and landing.

NASA’s RAVEN aircraft is helping researchers explore one of aviation’s biggest next steps: electric vertical takeoff and landing.

In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with NASA researchers Siena Whiteside and Jason Welstead about RAVEN, the Research Aircraft for eVTOL Enabling Technologies. From air taxis and regional mobility to noise, safety, hover-to-forward-flight transitions, and the challenge of scaling new aircraft designs, Sienna and Jason explain how NASA is building a flying laboratory for the future of advanced air mobility. This one is going to be cool!

🎧 What you’ll hear:

• How eVTOL aircraft work: What electric vertical takeoff and landing means, and how these aircraft differ from helicopters and airplanes
• What advanced air mobility means: How drones, air taxis, and regional aircraft fit into the future of transportation
• Meet NASA’s RAVEN: Why NASA is building a remotely operated research aircraft to study eVTOL technology
• Air taxi vs. flying car: Why eVTOLs are more likely to connect transportation hubs than replace your car
• The safety challenge: Why public trust and certification are essential before eVTOLs become common
• Noise and community impact: How researchers are studying aircraft sound, not just loudness
• Hover to forward flight: Why the transition from vertical lift to wing-borne flight is one of the hardest problems to solve
• Why size matters: How RAVEN bridges the gap between small models and full-scale passenger aircraft
• Open eVTOL research: How NASA hopes to share data with universities, startups, and industry partners
• Advice for future aerospace engineers: Why broad experience and curiosity matter in a fast-changing field

Learn More:

• Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
• Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
• Subscribe and leave a review to support the show

This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

Rob “Z-Man” Zettel shares his story from inside one of the Air Force’s most secret Cold War programs, Project Constant Peg.

In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with Z-Man, a retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and former member of the legendary 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, the “Red Eagles,” about what it was like to fly real Soviet MiG fighters in the Nevada desert. From the F-4 Phantom and F-5 aggressors to the MiG-21 and MiG-23 at Tonopah Test Range, Zettel offers a firsthand look inside the classified program designed to train American pilots against the real thing. This one is going to be cool!

🎧 What you’ll hear:

• How Vietnam changed air combat training: Why the Air Force realized pilots needed to train against real adversary aircraft
• Getting recruited into Constant Peg: The mysterious selection process and entering one of the Air Force’s most secret programs
• First time flying a MiG: Learning Soviet fighters with Russian-labeled controls and almost no manuals
• MiG-21 vs. MiG-23: The strengths, weaknesses, and personalities of the Soviet fighters compared to American jets
• Flying against America’s best: Training Weapons School, Topgun, and frontline fighter crews in real MiGs
• Life inside Tonopah Test Range: The secrecy, satellite windows, and culture surrounding the Red Eagles
• The psychology behind Constant Peg: How the program eliminated “buck fever” before real combat
• What the MiGs taught the Air Force: Lessons in maneuvering, energy fighting, and defeating Soviet tactics
• The maintainers behind the mission: Why keeping the MiGs flying required “miracles” from the ground crews
• The legacy of Constant Peg: Why Z-Man believes the program transformed U.S. air superiority for decades to come

Learn More:

• Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
• Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
• Subscribe and leave a review to support the show

This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

Jim “JB” Bell shares his story from inside one of the Air Force’s most secret Cold War programs, Project Constant Peg.

In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with Jim, a retired crew chief of the legendary 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, about what it took to keep MiG fighters flying in the Nevada desert. From maintaining MiG-17s, MiG-21s, and MiG-23s at Tonopah Test Range to flying on unmarked C-5s into China and bringing home F-7 fighters, Bell offers a rare perspective on one of the most classified adversary air programs in U.S. Air Force history. This one is going to be cool!

🎧 What you’ll hear:

• How Bell got recruited into Constant Peg: From a chance meeting in a bar at Nellis to joining the secretive 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron
• From F-4 Phantom to MiGs: Why working on Soviet fighters was completely different from traditional Air Force maintenance
• What Constant Peg was built to solve: How Vietnam exposed the need for American pilots to train against real adversary aircraft
• Learning to fix MiGs with no manuals: Trial and error, machine shops, scrounging parts, and building solutions from scratch
• MiG-21 vs. MiG-23: Why the MiG-21 was reliable and rugged while the MiG-23 became a constant maintenance challenge
• The crew chief mindset: What it meant to fully “own” an aircraft and why trust between pilots and maintainers mattered
• China missions and unmarked C-5s: Traveling to Beijing in civilian clothes to recover Chinese-built F-7 fighters for the program
• Life at Area 52: Working inside Tonopah Test Range alongside the early stealth programs and living inside a world of total secrecy
• How Constant Peg changed air combat: Why Bell believes the program saved lives and gave American pilots a critical edge
• The end of the program—and why it still matters: Why Constant Peg ended and why Bell believes a modern version should still exist today

Learn More:

• Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
• Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
• Subscribe and leave a review to support the show

This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

Major General John Barry shares his story of leadership through some of the most consequential moments in modern aerospace and national security history.

In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with John Barry, a fighter pilot, combat leader, former NASA official, and retired U.S. Air Force Major General. From Cold War alert missions in the F-4 Phantom to command at Luke Air Force Base, from surviving the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon to helping investigate the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Barry reflects on a career shaped by what he calls “windows in history.” This one is going to be cool!

🎧 What you’ll hear:

• From the Bronx to the Air Force Academy: The unexpected path that launched Barry’s career
• The F-4 Phantom and Cold War Europe: Going from dead asleep to airborne in five minutes while sitting nuclear alert
• A lesson in restraint: The near-shootdown that shaped how he identified targets in combat
• Nellis, Red Flag, and flying against MiGs: How realism in training changed the fight
• NASA and Challenger: What he learned watching an organization in crisis
• Command in Turkey: Rebuilding trust after tragedy while flying combat missions over Iraq
• Luke Air Force Base: Leading the largest fighter wing in the world and confronting dangerous F-16 engine failures
• Leadership in practice: Why “make it better than you found it” became his guiding principle
• Inside the Pentagon on 9/11: Evacuation, shock, and leadership in the immediate aftermath
• Investigating Columbia: The technical failure, the cultural breakdowns, and the “echoes of Challenger”

Key takeaway:
Preparation, humility, accountability, and the willingness to learn from history are what allow leaders and institutions to respond when the stakes are highest.

Learn More:

• Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
• Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
• Subscribe and leave a review to support the show

This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

Retired Col. Thomas Kirk shares his story of surviving solitary confinement for two years as a prisoner of war at the “Hanoi Hilton."

In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with Tom, a fighter pilot, squadron commander, and Vietnam War POW. From one of the most intense air-combat battlefields in history to the harrowing story that followed, Kirk explores what it took to persevere through the unthinkable. There is a lot to learn!

🎧 What you’ll hear:

• Inside Hanoi airspace: What it felt like flying through dense SAMs, AAA, and MiGs
• October 28, 1967: Leading a major strike, getting hit, and making the call to finish the mission
• Ejection and capture: The moment everything changed
• Life inside the “Hanoi Hilton”: Torture, isolation, and survival
• Two years alone: How routine, discipline, and mindset kept him going in solitary confinement
• The tap code: Communication, connection, and resilience among POWs
• Leadership under pressure: Commanding pilots in one of the most dangerous theaters of war
• Coming home: The physical and emotional return after 5.5 years
• Perspective: Faith, service, and “every day above ground is a great day.”

Key takeaway:

Kirk’s story reframes resilience as endurance over years, built on discipline, belief, and connection to others.

About the guest:

Col. Thomas H. Kirk is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and combat veteran of both Korea and Vietnam. He commanded the 357th Fighter Squadron and flew missions over North Vietnam in the Republic F-105 Thunderchief. Shot down on his 67th mission, he spent more than five years as a prisoner of war. He was awarded the Air Force Cross, four Silver Stars, and multiple Distinguished Flying Crosses. After his release, he returned to active duty in leadership roles before retiring and later built a successful business career, continuing to speak on leadership and resilience.

Learn More:

• Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
• Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
• Subscribe and leave a review to support the show

This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

Season 8 of Behind the Wings podcast is here. Hosted by Rick Crandall, the next 10 episodes deliver first-hand accounts from across the aerospace world, spanning historic combat missions, classified Cold War programs, and pivotal moments in space exploration. This season continues the show’s focus on connecting past, present, and future through the people who lived it.

Release Schedule:

New episodes drop every other Monday, beginning April 20, 2026.

More Info:
Visit Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum.
Support Wings' Mission of aerospace education and inspiration.

Special thanks to United Airlines for supporting the podcast and helping bring these stories to life.