Why There Aren't That Many Picture Books about the F-15 or 104

So I was going through my library the other day. Went through my fighter plane picture books. My big 3 picture/info books are about these three jets: the F-14 Tomcat (Cutting Edge), the F-15 Eagle (F-15: Eagle Engaged), and the F-16 Falcon, or Viper (Viper Force).

I Also have two different editions of "The Great Book of Modern Warplanes", which is beyond the scope of this blog as it is a comprehensive (Seriously) work of over 20 different fighter and bomber aircraft. But it's an awesome book, and I recommend it highly. The first one. Not the second one, which is just the first one with a small section about stealth planes, and virtually no other addition to its other chapters inspite of being decades older and having that much updating to do. No, no, no. Just buy the first one.

But I digress.

First I'll talk about "Cutting Edge", an indulgent Tomcat picture book showing the old bird in all her glory- amazing sunset pics, pulling vapes, chained to the deck, HUD and `pit photos while in flight, all amazing, glorious, beautiful, like-you-are-there shots. And amazingly fun to look at, too, as the pilots and associated Navy personnel discuss why their bird is the best.
My mind wandered to Tomcat crews at air shows, as well. Except for one grumpy sailor, they were typically really open and enthuzed about their craft, and one wonders why anyone sewed front pockets in their flight suits since they can't talk without using their hands, and they're ALWAYS talking. And that's ok, `cuz they're really fun to listen to. For a while. Then, you start to step back, subconsciously at first. Soon it becomes deliberate. They'd try to put an arm around you to keep you in conversational formation. The only way out was to ask them if they looked forward to transitioning to the Super Hornet. Then they'd push you away and turn their back to you, which in fighter body language is the highest insult- worse than flipping you off. But hey, you're free now.

"Viper Force" is the very model of- sorry, Bishop- Aviation Porn. This is the most self-indulgent, beautiful, up-close-and in detail pictorial on any fighter jet anywhere, and a couple F-16 pilots from Luke AFB made it. Goodness gracious these photos are amazing- evening afterburner shots, dropping Mk84s, GBU-12s, HUD pics. And hey- after having it for about 2 months I finally noticed there's actually some text in the book, too. Fighter pilot stories. Former Uygo, Iraq, and so on. And it covers all modern F-16s- Block 30s, Block 40s and Block 50 Vipers. And a few Block 60s, I think. Amazing, and wow, makes you want to join up and fly F-16s for the United States Air Force. Seriously, it's awesome.
And Viper pilots at an air show? If you can get past the college girls crowding them, holy cow they'll talk your ear off. At first you're mezmerized. Then you get a focus, and start relating vague stories in the News that relate to what he's saying and then he says, "Yeah, that was my targeting pod footage they showed on CNN." And then, well, after a while you're praying for more college girls to come around because they won't let you leave. But when they notice that your eyes have glazed over, they forget you're there and start actively looking around for female 20-somethings and you're free.

Then there's "F-15 Eagle Engaged."
Mostly technormation and graphs, history. A lot of great photos, but not like "Cutting Edge" and "Viper Force" picture wise. Great accounts of F-15s in actual air-to-air combat. Lots of them, and they're good. But... informative as it is, it's great, but a tad dry by comparison. And big, very big and heavy- definitely not a bathroom reader. I've reviewed it before in this blog so you can find it below. Oh, trust me, it's still a must-have-definitive-F-15-work. But all that, the main author isn't, nor has he ever been, an F-15 pilot. And his co-author, Doug Dildy, while he was an F-15 pilot and has written other books by himself, they're all about World War II, about ground attack and tanks and other, non-F-15 Eagle titles. And he only contributes more than authors in this book.
And active duty Eagle pilots at air shows? You're a bug to them. They might turn their head to notice you, but they won't respond to you. They won't talk to you. Like those British guards in London that guard the Queen's residence? Yeah, but they've got a fighter pilot slouch, instead (fighter pilot slouch is backwards- they look relaxed but their chest is still puffed out in front. It's weird and hard to describe, you just have to see it to get it). And even college girls get minimal attention when they walk up.
For years, I thought, "Why? Why don't Eagle pilots try to talk to you, to get you psyched up about their amazing trade of air dominance? Why don't they regail me with tales of their air combat experiences?"
It took me years, but it finally occurred to me.
104.
That's "One Hundred and Four." With nothing after or before it.
Because that's how many air combat experiences F-15 pilots worldwide have had where an enemy aircraft went down in flames and junk while the F-15 pilot landed his jet and called his family at home. It's how many times F-15 pilots have called out "Splash the bandit," and turned around lazily to return to their base while their prey fell lazily to the ground in a parachute or less. It's the number of times fools, heroes and the naive of nations deemed the Eagle's enemies have pointed their planes anywhere around an F-15's airspace and dared to wander near the deadliest, most combat proven jet in the World only to have their planes violently deprived of their air worthiness by a hail of missiles, bullets and air-splitting twisting and turning air combat maneuvers that only F-15 Eagles have actually accomplished across more wars and more places around the globe than any one person even knows.
And not one F-15's been lost to the same arena.
So in conclusion, while there may not be any 1 reason there's no such thing as a self indulgent F-15 Eagle picture book, there are, in fact, 104 reasons.

I need a nap now.