Living the dream

Recently, I got the chance to interview Mr. Ed Hamill. Mr. Hamill is a retired US Air Force Colonel with 30 years of service and 2,200 F-16 flying hours, including combat time. Currently, he flies for a major airline as a First Officer in the Airbus 319, 320 and 321, and also does airshows. He started flying competition and airshow aerobatics in 1999, and since then, Mr. Hamill has safely completed over 400 performances all across North America.

I feel truly humbled and honored to have had the opportunity to ask him some questions and thrilled that he was willing to take time out of his busy schedule to share his story with me.

Mr. Hamill, you have had such an incredible career. You are an airline pilot, an airshow pilot, and a retired Air Force F-16 fighter pilot with combat time. It sounds like a dream career to me and I’m sure many others. Could you perhaps start by introducing yourself and letting us know how you first got into aviation? What motivated you?

Thank you, Noah for this opportunity to talk to you about flying airplanes. I was introduced to aviation at an early age. My grandfather was a military and civilian pilot, along with my grandmother who is one of the original 99s. Then in high school, my dad offered to me to get my private pilot license at the same time he got his, so after growing up, looking at airplanes through the chain-link fence at the local airport, we both went through training together and got our private pilots license.

That was a special time. It was at the age of 14 going to an airshow with my dad, that I saw a fighter jet fly overhead. It was just a simple, straight and level flyby, and afterburner, and that one flyby changed my life forever. I knew at that point that at some point in my life I wanted to be a fighter pilot. So I looked at steps to becoming a fighter pilot, and the first step was to go get your private pilot license and see if this whole flying airplanes gig was the right gig for me.

After I got my license, I accumulated a couple hundred hours in piper warriors, Beechcraft, sundowners, and eventually piper Dakota’s. I also got a job as a line technician at the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at John Wayne airport in Orange County, California. There, I fueled airplanes, including commercial airliners, and met several pilots who offered to take me up in their corporate airplanes.

Then I decided I wanted to fly fighter jets, specifically at 16s in the Air Force, so I went to San Diego State University and joined Air Force ROTC detachment, which resulted in getting commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force after graduation. Then I entered Air Force pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas and was fortunate enough to get a 16s and I went through training at Luke Air Force Base, in Phoenix, Arizona.

So, what did it take to become a fighter pilot? And what was that experience like?

Becoming a fighter pilot takes persistence and good timing, along with hard work, and being in good physical shape. After pilot training in the Air Force, I was fortunate to get the S 16, which I did my training at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona in 1994. Then off to Kunsan air base in South Korea, where I spent my first year as a fighter pilot and I learned a lot about the fighter pilot culture. After Korea, I was assigned to Spangdahlem air base in Germany.

My advice to those that want to be a fighter pilot is to set goals, work hard, and never give up. Sometimes, if you hear the wrong answer, you might be talking to the wrong person. You will hear the word no a lot. Get used to it. There are many hoops and many struggles along the way, but if you really want something, you need to stick with it. My dad always told me: "The harder you work, the luckier you get". Well, I can tell you that the harder you work, the more fortunate you may be. You open the door for more opportunities with hard work and persistence. Actually, flying the airplane and being a fighter pilot in combat is up to you, but getting there will take focus and commitment.

What skills and knowledge have been most important for you as a fighter pilot?

The ability to compartmentalize is a strong skill that I believe makes you not just a better fighter pilot, but a better pilot in general. Situational awareness is a big part of that. Each phase of flight, you prioritize different things, and that is how you succeed. For example, when you first get to a new squadron, sometimes the best advice is to keep your mouth shut and listen, and there are times where you need to speak up, but that is true, no matter where you are.

You have also worked as an F16 instructor pilot. What was your most important piece of advice to student pilots?

Listen, learn and let your actions speak for themselves. Study hard, know the regulations, not just to keep yourself in line, but to help look out for others. As an instructor, I emphasize that this is a team sport, even though we are single seat fighters, we work as a team, and look out for each other in every phase of the operation. If you take a humble and modest approach, and do your best for others, then you have a better chance of succeeding.

After leaving the US Air Force, you became an airline pilot. That must be a very different experience from being a fighter pilot. How does the experience of flying a large Airbus with hundreds of passengers compare to your experience as a fighter pilot? What is it that you like most about both jobs?

Even though the airplanes are completely different, I find a lot of similarities in being a fighter pilot, and working as an airline pilot. You look out for each other in both environments, and while the airplanes fly completely differently, whether it is a two ship, or 4 ship of F-16s or it is two pilots in the cockpit at the airline, we always practice mutual support and backing each other up. Honestly, flying at the airline is more of a job for me, because it enables more time for family and activities, like golf, and the occasional airshow.

When did you decide to start doing airshows? Did you require any additional training for that?

From that airshow at age 14, I knew that I would eventually come full circle after flying fighter, jets, and want to get into the airshows. When I got back to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to be an instructor in the F16, I looked up an airshow performer whom I had seen fly before I even went into the Air Force. And it took a couple months of convincing, but he took me under his wing, and showed me the ropes of the airshow business. This was not just about how to fly the airplane, but how to do good for the airshow industry and help grow this magical world of airshow flying.

I started with competition slime, as well as airshow flying and built a strong foundation that will hopefully serve me well into the future. After flying full-time airshows from 2003 to 2009 and part time at 16s, I sold the airplane and dove back into military service. I retired from the military in 2019, and now with my partnership with Folds of Honor, I am back on the airshow circuit. My entire mission of getting back in the airshows in the Biplane is to raise awareness and money for Folds of Honor. Folds of Honor provides educational scholarships to the family members of fallen and disabled, first responders and military.

That's beautiful. Thank you so much for your service.

What advice would you give young students like me who dream of becoming a pilot and joining the Air Force?

My strongest recommendation is to be around airports, whether you get your pilot license or help fueling airplanes or help with the operations of an airport, be around it and get familiar. Also set goals, whether it’s large goals or small goals, set goals and work hard to achieve them. That will include studying hard and getting through classes and getting the best grades that you can. Also, surround yourself with good people. The best measure of a person are the friends that they keep. So hang out with other people that have the same goals that you do and back each other up just as you will in a fighter squadron, or an airline cockpit later on down the road.

Thank you for that. I will definitely take that to heart. Before we close, can you tell me what has been the most memorable moment of your career journey to date?

I have been blessed and fortunate to have many memorable moments in my aviation career. From my first operational at 16 squadron in Korea to flying in Germany and all over Europe, then flying my first airshow in 1999 in the same biplane that I’m flying today, then being invited to fly at Oshkosh Wisconsin at the EAA airventure.

You've had a truly incredible and inspirational journey... Is there anything else you’d like to share?

First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on aviation. I think the key deviation and any time in life is to keep your priorities straight. Surround yourself with good people and listen to them. Faith, family and friends are a strong foundation to a successful career in aviation, or anything you do in life. I wish you the best of luck in your journey, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions that I could help out with. Thank you and Godspeed.

Thank you Sir. It's been a great honor.