Who Is Bogey Dope?
I am a former USAF F-16 Crew Chief. I have had a passion for flight and flight simulation my entire life. I got into combat flight simulators at a very young age. Eventually dipping my toes into Falcon 4.0, and then LOMAC (Lock On Modern Air Combat), and later when it became DCS (Digital Combat Simulator). When full fidelity aircraft began to surface in DCS, I found the available information on how to fly them, to be very complicated and arduous. With my real life experience with the F-16 specifically, I felt I could help the community by making DCS more approachable to new players, with easy to follow tutorials and demonstrations. So, I created a YouTube channel, and started making videos.
What is a “Crew Chief?”
Tactical Aircraft Maintenance is the “official title” by the United States Air Force, but we are, unofficially called “Crew Chiefs.” A Crew Chief is the last person a pilot sees when they take off, and the first when they land. They are the ones that are entirely responsible for the aircraft, and the lives of those who fly it. Their name is printed on the canopy, opposite side of the pilot’s name. They are the ones that are responsible for maintaining flight worthiness of their assigned aircraft. They have the final authority to decide whether or not a jet can be flown by anyone. It is, in my opinion, the most rewarding job in the Air Force. When your jet comes back code 3 (Broken), and you spend 15 hours fixing it, and then get to strap a pilot into it, and watch it rip back into the air like it was brand new, there’s no other feeling like it in the world.
AIRFRAMES I’VE CREWED
I was an F-16 Crew Chief for the majority of my time in the USAF, and then I transitioned over to the MQ-1 Predator at Creech AFB for my last duty station. I continued to crew the Predator for a couple more years afterwards as a civilian contractor. I have only crewed those two airframes.
EDITING
No I do not employ an editor. I have enjoyed making videos most of my adult life. I use to create videos/animations for Family, Friends, Churches, Organizations, and Events. Even in the Air Force, I created videos for events like an ALS graduation ceremony, and leadership introductions. Sometimes just for fun. I would fly MSFS 2004 and create videos just to enjoy myself (No YouTube yet). DCS has provided such great video capture tools with their various virtual cameras, it has made things so much easier and fun to capture the angles and views I want. I love editing my own videos. I don’t think I will ever outsource that portion of my YouTube channel.
SIMULATORS
I became obsessed with flight at a very young age. I couldn’t get enough of it in any form. Building models, flying gliders, going to air shows, watching fighter pilot movies, etc. I was exposed to flight sims on our family’s first computer, and that opened a whole new world for me. I would save my money and buy other sims. The Janes series, Comanche and Silent Thunder A-10 Tank Killer 2. I would install them and play for hours. I remember eventually being introduced to Falcon 4.0 by someone who knew I would like it, and it blew my mind. Eventually, I found LOMAC (Lock On Modern Air Combat). I basically juggled back and forth between Falcon 4.0 and LOMAC for a long period of time before DCS World came out. Currently, I spend the majority of my time flying in DCS. HOWEVER, Falcon BMS (Formerly Falcon 4.0) is still a “go to” for me. Falcon BMS is, currently, the best representation of the F-16, in my opinion. At least when it comes to systems integration and finished state. Though, Eagle Dynamics is quickly approaching the same level of fidelity in their F-16 module. Sometimes I’ll fly BMS, just to understand and get familiar with a new system in the F-16, that ED is about to release.