Last of the Dog Fighters

As we progress into the future full of advancements to technology, it's easy to see how the art of flight from the past is becoming more distant. What was once a cockpit full of gauges is now one of television screens displaying the same information in what many consider to be a more 'concise' and 'easy to read' format. I can see this in my own training, where I've moved away from the dial gauges of the Zlin 242, Cessna 150L, and Cessna 172N to the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit of the Cessna 172S. And while the G1000 boasts vast improvements in some areas, it's still nice to occasionally climb into something a little less complex and taste what the pioneers of aviation did.

This sentiment is not only found in General Aviation, either. Below is a video titled "Last of the Dog Fighters" that looks into what might be some of the final years of the Adversary Squadron, a Navy Fighter Squadron set up to teach dog fighting to younger pilots. It's a great video that allows you to see military aviation, at a glance, from the pilots and their spouses as they argue the importance of their mission and the implications of no longer having that resource.

"Because of its independence of surface limitations and its superior speed, the airplane is the offensive weapon par excellence." - General Giulio Douhet