Now I can start telling people I have 13 minutes of seat time in an F-15

Thanks for this. I needed to see a tutorial before I bought one.

I'm not the biggest aviation buff or flight sim guy, but it was truly interesting to get a full tour of the fighter jet's cockpit. I appreciate Col. Themely taking the time to walk us through it and the California Air National Guard for their support. Ars Technica really puts these videos together well.

I love how they used DCS to demonstrate real life features of a jet. It's crazy they made them that accurate.

Not gonna lie: her way explaining the jet is like one of those voice announcers in video games when you begin a mission

Thanks now finally I can fly my F-15 which was rusting in my garage.

the most important thing with complicated interfaces like this is to realize there's logic and compartmentalization to their organization: it's not a big board of hundreds of buttons and knobs - it's a board with about 10 segments each dedicated to a single system/utility, and each of those systems has about 10 knobs to control it... this video does a good job using and showing this approach

I’m in the RAF as a fighter pilot and we use Typhoons instead of F-15’s like our buddies across the pond do - it puts a smile on my face to see so many people intrigued by these wonderful machines

I worked for her at Sheppard AFB, right before she retired. Awesome commander and all around great person.

Col Themley was my commander. Shes absolutely amazing.

Me, being told not to use the overclocking switch: "I am Groot."

My Dad flew F-4's F-15 E Fights! Retired at the rank of Colonel After 29 years! You guy are my hero's!!! Thank you, Andrea, for your service to our country and to everyone in the comments who served to keep us all safe!!!

They can't use the VMAX switch because overclocking voids their warranty.

"THIS is a 1974 McDonnell Douglas F-15. And today, I'm going to show all of it's many quirks and features. Then, I'm going to fly it, and - of course - give it a Doug Score."

The way she explained everything was amazing.

That was an astounding brief, Colonel. Well done. I asked the Marine Corps for an F-4, they handed me a rifle. After being retired, I got into civilian flying. Best move I could have made. I wish you, your fellow pilots and crews all the best. You all deserve it.

I didn't understand the first thing about F15s, thanks to this video, now I know exactly what I don't understand

I served 21 years in the Marine Corps as an infantry officer with 3 years in combat. My father was a B-17 pilot in WW II, shot down, and spent 2 years as a POW. After the war, he flew B-47's and B-52's. I always wanted to join the Air Force but I had two strikes against me: My eyes were bad and I wasn't very good at doing math under pressure. As I was getting ready to graduate from college in 1967 when I received my notice to report for a pre-induction physical. In other words, I was about to be drafted into the Army. One morning on my way to the student union for a cup of coffee, I ran into a Marine Officer Recruiting table. I stopped to hear what they had to say. Turned out they had what was called the Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) which would allow me to graduate without being drafted and upon graduation I would be commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. That sounded a heck of a lot better that being drafted in the Army as a private, so I joined right then and there without telling my parents, who were horrified because of the Vietnam War and there was a 100% chance of me ending up there. Stick with me here as this story does pertain to the video. I made it through Officer Candidate School, and then went to The Basic School in Quantico, VA and after six months of training there, I was sent to Vietnam were for 11 months I was an infantry platoon commander. Fast forward a few years and I earned my private pilot's license with commercial and instrument ratings. I also took advanced aerobatic, earned my glider's license, and qualified in both amphibian and float planes. As a Captain company commander stationed at Marine Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and assigned to the 1st Marine Brigade there. It was the only base in the Marine Corps where infantry units and a composite Marine Air Group were located at the same place with a Marine ground Brigadier General who commanded both the infantry and the Marine air. Like in every service there is a lot of good natured rivalry and in the Marines it's between the ground and air components. The pilots always got the best girls and we always accused them of not earning their extra flight pay. The commanding General wanted to have the ground and air components have a better appreciation the other's jobs, so he selected five infantry company commanders to fly the back seat of the Marine F-4's and five pilots who would become infantry commanders for two weeks--the time it took for the company commanders to take all of the pre-flight tests such as the ejection seat, getting untangled from a parachute in the water, a pressure chamber tests, and so on. I was one of the company commanders selected to fly the back seat of an F-4 on a live ordinance drop simulating combat conditions. Then came the big day for my flight. Climbing into the back seat of the F-4 I was taken how cramped the space was compared to the monster aircraft with two huge engines. It's a bit like strapping yourself into a massive rocket. Then I noticed how incredibly hot it was even with the canopy still open. With a flight suit, G-suite, parachute, helmet, oxygen mask, life vest, and more I was sweating profusely before we began taxiing. My pilot's call sign was "Puke" which should have given me a clue as to the ride I was about to have. Once the canopy closed, the green house effect kicked in full force and it was like being in an oven. The take off was exhilarating. Slow at first and then incredibly fast being pushed back into the seat. My flight suit was completely soaked with sweat. The heat inside the cockpit was almost unbearable. There was air conditioning, but as the pilot noted, it didn't work very well in the F-4. I don't think it work at all. We climbed to 20,000 feet and the cockpit cooled down considerably. It was the first time I felt semi-comfortable in the back seat. The live ordinance drop was on an uninhabited island used for such practice. The attack profile called for the pilot to approach the island just above the surface of the ocean. At a certain point, he pulled up into a vertical climb, rolled 180 degrees so he could acquire the target, and then rolled inverted with another 180 degree roll in a dive. To simulate combat, the pilot was violently jinking from side to side and up and down to avoid antiaircraft fire, dropped his bombs, and then climbed while jinking violently as he exited the target area. The G forces of all this is incredible. My helmet was bouncing off the canopy like a BB in a jar. Because of the extreme heat and the wild maneuvering, I felt sick and leaned forward to puke in my puke bag. That was the time when the pilot then pulled G's to climb out of the dive and it pinned me between my legs such that it was impossible to move until he leveled off. The return to base was another 20,000 foot semi-comfortable ride with intense heat in the cockpit as we descended. As we taxied to the squadron ramp, all the other pilots were waiting for us. As the canopy opened, I held up my puke bag to the roar and applause of the pilots. Then we had cold beers to celebrate. I have always suspected that "Puke" real mission that day was to make me puke. He succeeded. Since then, I have never made any disparaging remarks about fighter pilots. They are not paid enough for what they do. I was just along for a ride in the back seat, but normally it is occupied by a qualified Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) who has to be performing his job while the pilot is maneuvering the plane and he is responsible for checking the pilot's six o'clock for enemy fighters. So what happened to the pilot who commanded my company for two weeks? He swore he never wanted to do that again and he came away with the leadership challenges of leading 150 Marines every day from 0500 in the morning to 1900 at night and 24/7 when in the field for training. I thought the Commanding General's "experiment" was a complete success. Company commanders gained a huge respect for the F-4 crews and the F-4 crews gained a huge respect for what it was like to command a company. I have 3 years in combat and I have nothing but total awe of Col. Andrea Themely and all other fighter pilots in what they can do. It takes a special person to flight combat fighters or other aircraft as well. In Vietnam, my dead and wounded Marines were normally medivaced by Marine Ch-46 pilots. They were great, but the CH-46 is a big helicopter and sometimes has problems getting into tight landing zones. Also weather and enemy fire in the landing zones would delay medical evacuation of the dead and wounded. But in Vietnam, there was one helicopter unit that didn't seem to care about the weather or enemy fire. They were the Army's Black Cats flying UN-1 Huey helicopters. I'd call for a Marine medivac and half the time the Black Cats would show up. They did so in driving rain, fog, enemy fire, small landing zones, etc. I'm telling you they showed up in nearly impossible conditions. They must have been monitoring our medivac frequency because while I was talking to the Marine pilot, the Black Cats would jump in an tell me that he had me in sight an would pick up my dead and wounded. They seemed to perform miracles. I wasn't until the 1980's when I was supporting counter-insurgence operations in a Latin American country for two years that I realized why the Black Cats could do what no one else seemed to do. Part of my job there was to fly with both the US Army and the host nation helicopters. The Embassy only had 2 Army helicopters supporting it and so about 80% of the time I was flying on host nation helicopters. What I discovered is that my Army helicopter pilots were Warrant Officer and all they did in their career was fly helicopters. They were professional pilots who only flew helicopters. One of my pilots in Latin America was a Vietnam veteran who had over 6,000 hours flying the HU-1 and UH-1N. He took me places that were nearly impossible to get into and out of. Marine pilots are always officers who rotate in and out of flying assignments and so don't normally accumulate as many hours in a given aircraft. If I ever meet a Black Cat crew member, he will never have to pay for a beer. Sorry for the long post, but with all of the sarcastic comments about her video, I felt compelled to tell my story how I forever admire all military pilots, and how when given the opportunity to lead a combat infantry unit they feel the same about us. Semper Fi to all former, current, and future Marines. It was one Hell of a wild ride for my 21 years. Thank you for all the memories.

I’m proud of her. Way to go! Thank you for your service!

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this and just dreaming about being a pilot

She is so beautiful and smart. I thank her for her service and to be a inspiration to many female pilots after her.

China is like Write that down, WRITE THAT DOWN!!

Excellent presentation. It is good to know you gals (and guys) are up there and out there protecting the homeland. Thank you for your service.

Absolutely fascinating stuff. I get goose bumps just thinking about flying an F-15. Thank you for this vlog Col. Themely.

Woman: "These screens are powered off at the moment because the information they show is classified" Russians looking for government secrets on youtube: "Blyat"

So, uh, where's the cassette player? I'm not leaving the ground without my AC/DC tapes

This brings back memories as a mechanic on this jet while serving in the Air Force at Kadena AFB, Japan. Loved every minute if it!

This is one of the easiest videos to watch/listen to. She did such an awesome job. Thank you for your service, ma'am, and thanks for the vid.

Im impressed how straightforward most of it is. They seem to have put a lot of effort into only putting in stuff that the pilot needs to interact with despite its age compared to some heli cockpits ive flown.

Crazy that the first of these are from all the way back in 1976.

Great to see how the cockpit has evolved over time.

"23 years experience" like honestly wtf :D She looks like 30 y/o

When ww3 starts I’ll be ready to fly that abandoned f15 now.

Pilot: "Now, what did you learn?" Me: "F-15's have a secret boost button, called 'VMAX', and that's f'n awesome!"

I absolutely love this video. It is exactly what my curious mind needed and was looking for. Excellent explanation, complete, fun, interesting. Please make more videos as this one!

Very good. Andrea was very clear and very fluently demonstrated her passion for the F-15

DCS Player are like "We know already"

Fantastic. I'd never thought about what all those controls did. Without giving away any secrets, this was a great walkthrough.

Looking at this, it really is amazing to see how much the F35 has simplified controls.

I love that there are female fighter pilots and I think Col Themely is so badass for what she's accomplished in her service! Mad respect to you!

I really liked the way she explained everything. I've always wondered what those buttons do. This was a really fun video watch.

Thanks for a great tutorial!!! A lot of combat flight simmers would love to see this and eat it up :)....And thank you for your service!!!

Best explanation of an intimidating aircraft ever.

The emergency jettison switch has another name. The Admiral's doorbell...

I am just building and f 15 model kit, this footage is super useful for referencing the cockpit! Thank you very much and keep up the great content!

Thank you for your service!!!!!

I've often wondered about these fighter planes avionics, instrumentation displays and functions. Thank you for your time and effort, quite informative and interesting cheers.

This video is fantastic. The information is informative and understandable and the video format makes it easy to watch and enjoy. More of this please.

This woman is my hero. Smart, Brave, Intelligent.

I thought learning everything about the M1 Abrams was hard. You guys have a whole lot more to learn. This was very interesting!

Thank you for the explanation. Helps to understand how things work from a trained expert.

6:35 omfg they really put DCS in here!!

She doesn't need an F-15 to kill me, her eyes does the job

Thank you for this video and your service!

Thanks a bunch Andrea! I flew the F-100 in Vietnam and it was great to get a quick checkout on the F-15. My grandson is learning to fly while attending the Un of Mi (aeronautics) so I'll be sharing it with him!

"most weapon systems are on the HOTAS" A-10: Let me introduce myself

thanks for the tour

Thank You So Much for Serving, Introducing and breaking down the Eagle! This was one of my favorite Jets - the Other is The ‘F-16 C Viper’ - I blame Iron Eagle for that… i had always wanted to learn to fly these beautiful platforms and was always curious about what all the instruments do… so this was literally a dream come true!

I think i've just fell in love.

This was a very good and informative video. As a 19 year-old college student I was very lucky to get a summer job in 1973 at the massive McDonnell Aircraft Co. plant in St Louis. My assignment dealt with the very first blocks of the then brand-new F-15 A. This video helped to explain how the plane works, information that was beyond my clearance in 1973. But I considered it a lucky privilege to be able to simply work with the construction of these airplanes, which were being built along with new F-4 Phantoms at the time.

NICE editing job...love the attention to detail. Awesome video!

Halfway through the vid: where's the "Skip tutorial button?" In-game: Should not have skipped! F

The basic data displayed on the VSD, MPCD and PAD is not classified, they just didn't want to power up the jet. ;)

Lots to learn on that jet. WOW

Beautifully presented in all aspects!

A thousand likes. This is so great! Thank you Col. Themely and Ars Technica.

I'm an Eagle Keeper from the 70's that was at Nellis AFB,57th EMS TAC fighter wing Silver Section plane #111 Lt. Col. Jacobson's crew chief.

Very cool seeing all the avionics I work on in the actual jet. We don't get to see where this stuff ends up after it ships out - thanks!

Loved the informative video and thank you for your service.

"Pickles out of a pickle barrel?" And here I am, a former B-52 navigator, thinking the pickle switch was called the pickle switch because it about the size of a pickle with a button on one end and the wiring cord on the other. Seriously, B-52s in the 1990s still had 'em and I'm willing to bet they still do. B-17 bombardiers had a pickle switch, too, also the size of a pickle. I'm thinking "so accurate you could drop 'em in a pickle barrel" was a bravado story. that evolved later.

Thank you Col. Themely for your service, and this wonderfully detailed explanation.

Outstanding job to Col. Themley. Thank you for your service to the country. 144th is not the same without you.

I’ve been waiting for a video like this my WHOLE LIFE!!

Can Eagle Dynamics pretty please hire this vet and let her voice over the tutorials for ALL the aircrafts, especially the cockpit and instruments orientation part? thx PS: Eagle Dynamics are the Devs of DCS World

As a DCS simmer, I appreciate you using the sim!

Thankyou for explaining the Controls on my Favorite Fighter.

Great video! As many times as I have sat in an F-15 cockpit I had no idea what any of the buttons do.

I actually love how informative it is and that we get to see it in FPP, makes it so much easier to understand

“you forgot to mention, it can still fly with one wing”

Always happy when the KZfaq algorithm tells me to revisit this great video!

That was fascinating. Thanks. I need one of those.

Her children and grandchildren will be the happiest kids ever. She’s awesome

As a kid, I absolutely LOVED the F-15. This video was so enjoyable to watch and her narration was very engaging. Thanks for this video!

Loved it!!!! Thank you.

Thanks for your service!! You're truly amazing person. God bless!!!

This has to be one of the coolest girls in the world freaking awesome

Air Force: "Never, ever touch the little red button"

Nice job, Colonel. Thanks.

What a beautiful pilot !.

This was great. I learned so much!

Pretty, smart and dangerous! Thank you Colonel.

You talk like a real pilot, concise and clear. Salut!

Excellent video. Thank you Colonel!

The F-15C is my favourite combat aircraft of all time. Throughout the years KZfaq videos and pc flight simulator games, I have learned more about the F-15 Eagle in this 14 minutes and 13 seconds than I ever before realised. Thumbs up to an excellent video and a very amazing instructor!

I guess if you "own" this plane in DCS, this presentation was the way to go!

Very good go through! Great job Andrea! :)

Thank you!!

I've been waiting for a detailed video like this for years !!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much for uploading this.

Incredible how they can squeeze in all those features and technology in such a small space inside the small airplane.

I am in awe of your knowledge and experience with the plane. Very nice job on the tutorial as I learned allot.