Lions Of The Sky Paco Chierici



Paco Chierici
  • Hardcover: 292 pages
  • Publisher: Braveship Books (April 12, 2019)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1640620672
  • ISBN-13: 978-1640620674
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches

In the world of fighter pilots, the most alpha of the alpha, competition is everything and the stakes are impossibly high. A Top Gun for the new millennium, LIONS OF THE SKY propels us into a realm in which friendship, loyalty, and skill are tested, battles won and lost in an instant, and lives irrevocably changed in the time it takes to plug in your afterburners.


Sam Richardson is a fighter pilot’s pilot, a reluctant legend with a gut-eating secret. He is in the last span of his tour as an instructor, yearning to get back to the real action of the Fleet, when he is ordered to take on one last class—a class that will force him to confront his carefully quarantined demons.


Brash, carefree, and naturally gifted, Keely Silvers is the embodiment of all that grates on him. After years of single-minded dedication, she and her classmates can see the finish line. They are months away from achieving their life-long dream, flying Navy F/A-18 fighters. They are smart and hard-working, but they’re just kids with expensive new toys. They’re eager to rush through training and escape to the freedom of the world beyond, a world they view as a playground full of fast jets and exotic locales.


But Sam knows there is a darker side to the profession he loves. There is trouble brewing in the East with global implications. If they make it past him they will be cast into a dangerous world where enemy planes cruise the skies over the South China Sea like sharks, loaded with real weapons and hidden intention


My Thoughts


This is a fascinating read! We begin the story with a commando on a boat in the South China Sea. Once his inflatable craft docks on the beach, he begins his operation.

The following day takes us to Virginia Beach, Virginia and we are flying low with engaging characters. Cruising along in a 1966 427 Shelby  AC Cobra has always appealed to me and I was immediately intrigued by the characters Slammer and Quick.

The cockpit drama is a strong focal point. 

A mix of humor and well-placed use of similes combine with the real and simulated scenes for those being trained as fighter pilots with the intention to fly the  F/A-18 Hornet and later be part of the combat squadron.

Chierici skillfully points out many of the perils  U.S. Navy Aviators face and makes us aware of how quickly they must regain focus during periods of anguish.

I received a copy of this book from FSB Associates.




About The Author



During his active duty career in the U.S. Navy, Francesco “Paco” Chierici flew A-6E Intruders and F-14A Tomcats, deployed to conflict zones from Somalia to Iraq and was stationed aboard carriers including the USS Ranger, Nimitz and Kitty Hawk. Unable to give up dogfighting, he flew the F-5 Tiger II for a further ten years as a Bandit concurrent with his employment as a commercial pilot. Throughout his military career, Paco accumulated nearly 3,000 tactical hours, 400 carrier landings, a Southwest Asia Service Medal with Bronze Star, and three Strike/Flight Air Medals.

Currently a 737 captain, Paco can often be found in the skies above California flying a Yak-50 with a group of likeminded G-hounds to get his dogfighting fix.

Prior to writing Lions in the Sky, Paco published extensively in Aviation Classics Magazine, AOPA Magazine, and Fighter Sweep, as well as creating and producing the award winning naval aviation documentary Speed and Angels. He lives in Northern California with his wife Hillary, and two children.