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  • Viper Pilot

  • The Autobiography of One of America's Most Decorated Combat Pilots
  • By: Dan Hampton
  • Narrated by: John Pruden
  • Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (200 ratings)
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Viper Pilot cover art

Viper Pilot

By: Dan Hampton
Narrated by: John Pruden
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Summary

151 combat missions

21 hard kills on surface-to-air-missile sites

Four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor

One Purple Heart

Sure to rank as one of the greatest aviation memoirs ever written, Viper Pilot is an Air Force legend's thrilling eyewitness account of modern air warfare.

From 1986 to 2006, Lt. Col. Dan Hampton was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, the elite Air Force fighter squadrons whose mission is recognized as the most dangerous job in modern air combat. Weasels are the first planes sent into a war zone, flying deep behind enemy lines purposely seeking to draw fire from surface-to-air missiles and artillery. They must skillfully evade being shot down - and then return to destroy the threats, thereby making the skies safe for everyone else to follow. Today these vital missions are more hazardous than direct air-to-air engagement with enemy aircraft. Hampton's record number of strikes on high-value targets make him the most lethal F-16 Wild Weasel pilot in American history. This is his remarkable story.

Taught to fly at an early age by his father, Hampton logged twenty years and 608 combat hours in the world's most iconic fighter jet: the F-16 "Fighting Falcon", or "Viper" as its pilots call it. Hampton spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq, leading the first flight of fighters over the border en route to strike Baghdad. In the war that followed, he engaged in a series of brilliantly executed missions that earned him three Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor; he notably saved a U.S. Marine unit from certain death by taking out the surrounding enemy forces near Nasiriyah. Two years earlier, on 9/11, Hampton's father was inside the Pentagon when it was attacked; with his dad's fate unknown, Hampton was scrambled into American skies and given the unprecedented orders to shoot down any unidentified aircraft. Hampton also flew critical missions in the first Gulf War, served on the Air Combat Command staff during the Kosovo War, and was injured in the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist attack.

With manned missions rapidly giving way to remote-controlled UAV drones, Viper Pilot may be the last memoir by a true hero of the skies. Gripping and irreverently humorous, it is an unforgettable look into the closed world of fighter pilots and modern air combat.

©2012 Ascalon, LLC (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

What listeners say about Viper Pilot

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A great one for aviation enthusiasts

I've been getting into DCS during lockdown so Ive learned some NATO radio brevity which really helped visualise the action sequences in this book, and in turn this book really helped renforce what I've learned and expand on it greatly. Hitting SAM sites with a guided missile from the comfort of my living room is challenge enough for me right now, so hitting one point blank with a bomb while dealing with the stress of g forces and leading a team is pretty much heroic in my eyes. Felt like it went into a bit of a rant there at the end though. Would give 4.5 stars if I could.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen

Great listen and some great details with great narration and sorties to follow through the whole experience

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well written and brilliantly narrated by the author

Felt like an honest and authentic account of a Viper pilots training and combat experience. Politically incorrect in some respects but not to its detriment. Would heartily recommend it for anyone with an interest in military aviation.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Viper FA-16

The narrator is highly recommended, as soon as he started I recognised him from previous books. The enjoyment of an audible book is a mixture of a good story or information well presented to you (at whatever ratio you put in the importance of the mix) by the narrator. The story/facts are highly attention grabbing and very well narrated by John Pruden
If you like or are interested in military aviation. Or you are into DCS, then this book is highly recommended, a must. Dan does not powder over some of the frustration, which gives confidence in the truthfulness. I wish it was longer...

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wild Weasels

This is an good e-book, detailing air operations of a wild weasel fighter pilot, the main thing that I took away from this listen is just how gung-ho the Americans are!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Adrenaline kick for an ol’ fighter pilot:

Just my kind of an operational fighter pilot. With a one mission life expectancy over the Cola Penninsula during the 1970ies, it is professionally reassuring to read that the USAF later got their act together and produced real warrior pilots, who had balls and knew their stuff! With this equipment and knowhow we could have stood a chance against SA-6s and the dreaded ZSU-23s. as well. We were just political canon fodder if we ever had been launched towards Monchegorsk or take on the Northern Fleet. This shows what brave men can do with the right tools and- training in the real world. You can feel the sweat and G-forces by just reading this, if you have ever seen 450kts and 6 Gs on the clock! Shit hot!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Real life hero

For a fighter jet enthusiast, this is just priceless! Clear and easy to understand explanations of tactical stuff makes it easy to understand. Narrator let's you almost feel some of the action. And this fighter pilot is really a true real life hero! What a life!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

You are in the cockpit!!

As other have said, author is a bit too cocky and some not so nice jokes about other countries but, it is a very good book. Totally recomended!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not a bad story

Not a bad book but the guy is so arrogant it spoils the story.

I did this I did that I’m awesome anyone who is not me is not awesome.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book about action and commentary

It was a great book, not the usual - I started, I fought and I finished. The author takes a wander around his career flying these aircraft. He talks about how his bit of military flying started, and what he did to get there.

A great listen, with bits of history and authors opinion as well.

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