Episode #121: Intruders, Hornets, and a UFO with Navy Commander Dave Fravor

🚨 Intruders, Hornets... and a UFO. One of the US Navy’s most famous intercept incidents. Welcome to Episode 121 of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! I’m your host, Mark Hasara, retired Air Force KC-135 pilot, Air Force Weapons School graduate, and lifelong aviation addict. This episode is one I’ve wanted to do for a long time. At the recent ARSAG Conference in Orlando, I finally got the chance to sit down with retired Navy Commander Dave Fravor—the pilot at the center of the world-famous “Tic Tac” UFO encounter. Dave’s aviation journey started after watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon in 1969. That moment changed his life. He went from the Marine Corps to the U.S. Naval Academy, then into the cockpit of the A-6 Intruder, the F/A-18 Hornet, and eventually command of the legendary VFA-41 Black Aces flying the Super Hornet, the infamous FAST EAGLE squadron! Dave shares several fantastic lessons learned on his naval aviation journey, low-level navigation and training through the Cascades in the A-6E Intruder, multi-mission experience in the F-18C Legacy Hornet, becoming one of the US Navy experts at his craft and strike leader after graduating from TOPGUN, and finally flying and commanding in the hot rod F-18F Super Hornet. And Dave explains how he got his callsign! Then came the famous sortie everyone now knows about. During a high-tempo exercise off the California coast, the USS Princeton ordered Dave and his section to BUSTER—full speed—to investigate unknown radar contacts that had been tracked for days. What they found below them shocked everyone. The now-famous Tic Tac UFO. Dave walks us through exactly what happened, what he saw, what the radar operators were seeing, and why this encounter still has aviators, intelligence experts, and the defense world talking over twenty years later. This is not Hollywood. This is a professional combat aviator explaining one of the strangest intercepts in aviation history. Here is the link to Dave's congressional testimony: https://youtu.be/usPustgTcDU?si=uMQ6kZyOlc4atFnr And this link will take you to the targeting pod video of the TicTak: https://youtu.be/1gP8i6ALhqg?si=9hlb43lyBjUPUS22 🛩️ EPISODE SPONSOR – WALL PILOT Wall Pilot creates incredible custom aviation artwork printed on peel-and-stick vinyl for your office, home, or hangar. Choose from 158+ ready-to-print aircraft profiles or create your own custom aircraft with your name, markings, and weapons load. 👉 https://wallpilot.com 🎖️ JOIN THE ALL RANKS CLUB ON PATREON Want behind-the-scenes aviation discussions, live Q&As, Virtual Bar Nights, and exclusive aircraft stickers? Join the crew and help keep the show airborne: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/c/lessonsfromthecockpit/membership 🎁 Gift a membership: https://www.patreon.com/lessonsfromthecockpit/gift 💸 SUPPORT THE SHOW DIRECTLY ✈️ Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/Mark-Hasara ✈️ Zelle: [email protected] 📲 FOLLOW FOR MORE AVIATION CONTENT ▶️ YouTube: @markhasara 📷 Instagram: @markhasara 🎬 TikTok: @markhasara This episode has everything—carrier aviation, combat leadership, air combat tactics, and one of the most talked-about aerial encounters in modern history. Thanks for flying with us, Dave. And thanks to all of you for helping keep these aviation stories alive. And remember… Nobody Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas… NOBODY!