Flight of the Old Dog

Patrick McLanahan #1

by Dale Brown

Flight of the Old Dog is one of the original and classic military techno-thrillers in the entire world. It is the basis of the PC flight simulator "Megafortress" published by Three-Sixty Pacific. It has been translated into twelve languages, and sales have exceeded a million copies. The United States and the Soviet Union are on the brink of nuclear war. At a top-secret research facility at Kavaznya, Sibera, the Soviets have developed a ground-based laser weapon capable of shooting down American satellites, and they are betting that the American president doesn't have the guts to risk starting a nuclear exchange. But at a top-secret flight test site in the Nevada desert called "Dreamland," a team of test pilots and engineers have created the a venerable B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers modified with stealth technology, computers, digital avionics, state-of-the-art weaponry, and performance-enhancing features that makes it unlike any B-52 bomber--or any other warplane--ever flown. Now it's time to flight-test the Megafortress, and the Air Force assembles the best pilots, bombardiers, and navigators to see what this creation can do. One of them is Captain Patrick McLanahan, considered the best B-52 bombardier in the Air Force. The others on the crew are hard-charging pilots and world-class engineers, and McLanahan is nothing like them. But the team leader and aircraft commander, Lt. General Brad Elliott, can see that McLanahan is a quiet professional and a natural-born leader. Soviet spies soon discover the Megafortress, and they recognize that a fleet of these advanced planes can practically neutralize all of the Soviet Union's air defenses. Back-channel negotiations begin, and the U.S. is willing to mothball the Megafortress if the Soviets mothball the Kavaznya laser. That is completely unacceptable to the Soviet leader, and he hatches a daring plan to deal with the Megafortress while keeping his devastating laser weapon. Just prior to a live fire flight test, a team of Russian commandos invade Dreamland with the goal of stealing the Megafortress…or destroying it. The crew just barely manages to escape. The American president orders the top-secret aircraft back to Dreamland, but Brad Elliott and the vice president hatch a daring plan of their use the Megafortress to penetrate the Soviet Union's stiff air defenses and destroy the Kavaznya laser. Thus begins the aerial cat-and-mouse game across ten thousand miles and wave after wave of the Soviet Union's most advanced air defenses and fighter-interceptors, which are all on full alert. Most of the Megafortress's crew have no military training. They have supplies for only a few hours, and are outfitted for the deserts of southern Nevada, not the frigid steppes of Siberia. They have flown the Megafortress only a few times, and only in carefully scripted test flights. With Brad Elliott at the controls, Patrick McLanahan realizes that it's up to him to organize and get the rest of the crew ready for the fight of their lives. About the Dale Brown is a superstar best-selling military techno-thriller author. He is considered the Tom Clancy of the Air Force and was one of the first modern techno-thriller authors. He has published 29 novels, most of which star Patrick McLanahan. He has also published 14 novels of the "Dreamland" and "Puppet Master" series along with Jim DeFelice. He is a private pilot and a major in the Civil Air Patrol, the civilian volunteer arm of the U.S. Air Force. He is also a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight West, a group that donates their time and aircraft to fly needy medical patients for treatment. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and amassed over two thousand hours in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A medium supersonic bomber.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Military Fiction, War, Action, Adventure, Aviation

420 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1987

About the author

Former U.S. Air Force captain Dale Brown is the superstar author of 25 consecutive New York Times best-selling military-action-aviation adventure novels: FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG (1987), SILVER TOWER (1988), DAY OF THE CHEETAH (1989), HAMMERHEADS (1990), SKY MASTERS (1991), NIGHT OF THE HAWK (1992), CHAINS OF COMMAND (1993), STORMING HEAVEN (1994), SHADOWS OF STEEL (1996) and FATAL TERRAIN (1997), THE TIN MAN (1998), BATTLE BORN (1999), and WARRIOR CLASS (2001). His Fourteenth Novel AIRBATTLE FORCE will be published in late Spring 2003... Dale's novels are published in 11 languages and distributed to over 70 countries. Worldwide sales of his novels, audiobooks and computer games exceed 10 million copies.

Dale was born in Buffalo, New York on November 2, 1956. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European History and received an Air Force commission in 1978. He was a navigator-bombardier in the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber, and is the recipient of several military decorations and awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Combat Crew Award, and the Marksmanship ribbon.
Dale was also one of the nation's first Air Force ROTC cadets to qualify for and complete the grueling three-week U.S. Army Airborne Infantry paratrooper training course.

Dale is a director and volunteer pilot for AirLifeLine, a non-profit national charitable medical transportation organization who fly needy persons free of charge to receive treatment. He also supports a number of organizations to support and promote law enforcement and reading.

Dale Brown is a member of The Writers Guild and a Life Member of the Air Force Association and U.S. Naval Institute. He is a multi-engine and instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his own plane. On the ground, Dale enjoys tennis, skiing, scuba diving, and hockey. Dale, his wife Diane, and son Hunter live near the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Reviews

[heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting to me to read books set in the cold war, now that my kids are old enough that I have tried to explain the cold war.

This is a band-of-misfits book with a healthy dose of improbable circumstances, but for all that, it's exactly the kind of book I keep going back to, because it is exactly what it claims to be. It's about men and women working together to accomplish an impossible mission.

Read if: you like can-do, derring-do, and awesome little character moments, like the Soviet base caretaker who loves chinese food.

Skip if: your eyes glaze over when people talk about military technology, you don't want jingoism in your escapism.

[Levent Pekcan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Çok uzun zamandır okumak istediğim bir kitaptı. Kindle'da satılmıyor, internette dolaşan korsan kopyaları da yanlış taranmış, okunmaz halde şeyler. Fiziksel kopyasını ABD'den getirtmek gerekti, ama sonunda elime ulaştı ve okuyabildim.

Tek cümleyle özetlersek, Sovyet Rusya'nın geliştirdiği çok üst düzey bir silahı vurmakla görevli, özel yapım bir bombardıman uçağının öyküsü. Güzel bir anlatı ama açıkçası bu kadar abartılmasına şaşırdım. Kitabın önemli bölümü, Birleşmiş Milletler görüşmeleri vs. gibi gayet sıkıcı şeyler. Keza, öykü içindeki bazı meseleler hiçbir yere bağlanmıyor. Final, bir iki sayfada geçiştirilmiş gibi. "Tüm bu olan bitenden sonra ne oldu?" konusunda hiçbir bilgi yok, muhtemelen ikinci kitaba bırakılmış. Öykü boyunca bir iki yerde tepeden inme (deus ex machina?) çözümler can sıkıyor. Benzer kitapların çoğunda olduğu gibi dialoglar, karakterler hayli zayıf.

Kitapta, beklenen "işte Amariga adamı böyle yapar aaaabi!" havası yok, bu güzel. Ancak çağımızın kitap çokluğunda, bu kitap nasıl aradan sıyrılıp da böyle efsane olmuş pek çözemedim. Normalde, kalabalık içinde kaybolup gidecek kalitede bir roman diye düşünüyorum.

Yazarın başka havacılık kitapları ve bu kitabın devamı da varmış, ama okumayı düşünmüyorum şimdilik.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you believe that the United States has the absolute right to impose hegemonic domination over the rest of the world - and you bought into the CIA lies about the Soviet bogeyman and our impending destruction at their hands at any moment - and the only thing keeping us safe at night were a few maverick, renegade Americans "doing the right thing" then this book is for you....

However, if you are a thinking, rational, reasonable person who likes to actually learn how the world works and doesn't swallow propaganda hook, line, and sinker, you should probably steer clear of this ridiculous "techno-thriller"...

Let me begin: it's the late 1980s and the Soviet Union has developed a super-laser that can destroy satellites, airplanes, missiles, etc., in eastern Siberia (a laser not even capable of being produced in 2022, let alone 1988). And, of course, they use this laser to defend their territorial integrity, by which I mean that they actually built this laser so that they can launch all their nukes at the USA ASAP - if you are the first kind of person I described. So, in the book, they use the laser to destroy the American spy satellite that is parked in a geo-synchronous orbit directly over Siberia. Then, use it to shoot down an American spy plane only 30 miles off the coast of the USSR. Then, use it to shoot down a new ICBM that the US is testing over the Pacific - a smaller, more capable version of the Minuteman. So, arguably, the Soviets are only using it to defend themselves and/or protect their own little sphere of influence. In the book, the President of the USA himself says that he'd be mad if the Soviets were flying recon planes that close to the US coast, too.

By the way, how did the Soviets build this laser. Well, according to the author, speaking through American Generals, the Soviets just have to cut down their bread and/or meat imports by 1/3 or so for a year and they'd have enough money to build anything they want, and they don't care about public opinion. I mean, in real life, economic hardship and public opinion is what brought down the USSR...but again, if you're that first type of person, I'm sure you know that it was actually the God-President Reagan who single-handedly dismantled the Soviet Union.

Oh, the USA also apparently has an unmanned orbiting military station, called Ice Fortress, that we threaten to re-man if the Soviets don't unbuild their laser, but promise not to rearm it...yet. So, then the next scene is the USA immediately re-arming the station, which is then also destroyed by the mystical Soviet laser.

So, then, of course, the US launches it's super-secret Stealth B-52...yes, that's a thing...to go destroy the laser in the Soviet Union...which, of course succeeds...'cause 'Merica. And then, both sides promise each other that they will not rebuild their laser and/or space station. I should mention that the whole reason both sides are so antagonistic in this story is because neither side trusts each other and are always blaming each other for never living up to their promises...so, um...okay?

The funniest part of the book, to me, is that the author talks about how the B-52 will be undoubtedly retired by the year 2000, since the B-1 and the FB-111 are "far superior". Fast forward to 2022, and the FB-111 was retired in 1991 (like 3 years after this book was published), and the B-1 is on the chopping block as soon as the B-21 hits the shelves. Meanwhile, the B-52 is planned to still be in operation until the mid-2040s.

[Jared W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has 416 pages, and it was published by Berkley Books. I decided to read this book because it is heavily based on aircraft, which I appreciate because my father, who was a sergeant in the Air Force, recommended this book to me. This work was a New York Times Bestseller.
The main character of this book is Captain Patrick McLanahan, a B-52 navigator; however, General Elliot of the Dreamland projects can be classified as the other main character. Both men work together on the critical mission of the story.
Plenty of other characters work with McLanahan and General Elliot. Wendy works aboard the B-52 as, mainly, a tracker of other aircraft and missiles. Colonel Ormack is General Elliot’s copilot. Angie is the main controller of the B-52’s arsenal of weapons, primarily missiles. Dave Luger works alongside Patrick McLanahan as a general systems operator. All the relevant characters of this story work for the United States Air Force.
This book’s type could be classified as fiction, war and aircraft. The setting of this book is in the United States, the Pacific Ocean, and Russia. The time period is set in the modern day (1980s-1990s). Other important locations include Dreamland, which is located in a desert in the United States. What was rather notable in this book was the third-person omnipotent view which gave the reader detailed descriptions of actions, people or places. The book was aerial combat-based and emphasized the details of the operations of the aircraft. In the story, the main character is trying to bomb a secret technology facility in Russia. With the help of an unrealistically modified B-52 bomber plane and the United States’ greatest aviators and aircraft engineers, the main character and his helpers save the United States from the greatest threat the world has never known. Their mission was a covert-op, and publication of the mission to the public could result in catastrophic events, such as punishment dealt by the United Nations and all-out war with Russia. The outcome is the death of one of his friends and significant injuries to all the B-52’s crew; however, their mission is a success.
To conclude, Flight of the Old Dog was a grandly intriguing book; however, too much detail was given about the operations of the aircraft. I enjoyed the book for its intense action scenes and how the Old Dog’s crew socialized and worked together. The only characteristic of the story that I disliked is that the detail about how aircraft operate is too great. The strongest point of the book was the intensity of the combat scenes. Every combat scene was incredibly suspenseful, clearly described, and full of color. The weakest point of the work is how chaotically and unpredictably each character is introduced. I struggled to keep track of all the relevant characters, as they were each introduced at odd times, without rhyme or reason. This book taught me that, against any odds, there will always be a chance to reach your goal. There is no excuse for failure. I felt that this book was cut too short. This book is superbly written with colorful, however casual, language, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who finds interest in action, war, technology or aircraft.

[murph · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story of a stealth B-52. Yeah. It's exactly that stupid.

What begins as just this author's pet "what if..." scenario just slides off a cliff as the book progresses. Apparently Dale Brown decided that anyone addled enough to accept the books premise would accept anything he threw at them.

Brown throws plenty.

For reasons known only to the author - a government project makes a stealth aircraft out of an airframe designed and built in the 1950's.

Then the entire universe conspires to create a scenario that requires just such an aircraft.

Against all odds, the book goes downhill after that.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book I read by Dale Brown. An incredibly engrossing story. The characters are interesting and identifiable (you truly find yourself caring about them), the narration is first rate (you'll actually feel as if you're in the old B-52), and the pace is breathless.

[David Williamson · Rating 2 out of 5]

What happens next to Patrick Mclanahan and his crew? Such a question rarely entered my mind. While this book was filled with copious amounts of tech specs and enough aeronautic jargon to make one feel like you are taking an aerospace engineering course. There is so much that it feels the actual story and characters are muddied down with it. It's always good to give enough information for the reader (especially one unfamiliar with the science) something to go on to understand what’s happening and why. This is especially true with something as complex as flight and science behind the aircraft. Sadly however it felt like I was reading a text book half the time with someone referring to some Patrick fellow and an advanced B-52 in the margins. This book is sure to spark the interest of the most military or aircraft enthusiasts but if you’re looking for an in-depth characterisation or story I suggest look elsewhere.

[John Boettcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I read this book while I was in 7th grade, after I had finished up with everything that Clancy had put out at that point, and was looking for something to fill the void.

Well, Flight Of The Old Dog was it.

Absolutely blew me away. I am pretty sure that I recommended this book through high school to anyone who would listen, and I doubt many did, about how fantastic this book is.

The story was written and still takes place during the cold war, which unfortunately, I am JUST old enough to remember. And the adventurous plot and the tenacity of the characters to do something so insane that it actually might work was brilliant.

Brown made you believe in all the technology that was being incorporated into an old B-52, and retro-fitted for one mission to potentially save America. The story, once it gets cooking, is virtually impossible to put down.

BY FAR, my favorite book of Dale Brown's, although he has some other fairly good ones as well. Fantastic Read!!

[Hilmi Isa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Flight of the Old Dog merupakan novel pertama hasil tulisan Dale Brown. Namun,TFotOD juga bukanlah novel pertama yang saya baca yang merupakan hasil tulisan beliau. Novel beliau yang pertama kali saya baca adalah bertajuk Piranha yang merupakan sebahagian dari siri Dreamland. Berdasarkan memori saya (kerana saya membaca Piranha bertahun-tahun yang lalu),terdapat perbezaan yang ketara terutamanya dari stail penulisan Brown.

TFotOD merupakan sebuah novel yang lebih menumpukan perhatian kepada teknikal yang berkaitan dengan avionik dan ketenteraan. Mungkin kerana ini adalah novel pertama beliau dan beliau sendiri merupakan seorang bekas tentera udara,jalan cerita novel ini agak kurang menitikberatkan perkembangan dan jalinan antara watak-watak serta dialog yang agak kaku. Jadi,novel ini mungkin lebih sesuai dibaca oleh para pembaca yang lebih suka kepada aksi penerbangan dan ketenteraan berbanding aspek-aspek yang saya nyatakan di atas.

[Cody Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

Purely speculative military fiction makes a pretty interesting novel, if not entirely believable. Characters were cookie cutters, and the ending line made me want to vomit. Actually the ending line made me knock off one star.

You cannot end a book on a happy romantic note between two characters that only showed mild interest in one another throughout the whole story. Perhaps 40 words were dedicated to their relationship in the whole 300ish pages. Sorry, the ending just kind of ruined it for me. good book otherwise.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid, most of my mates would be reading sciFi or Fantasy books but I would always look for something else. Stumbled across this book one day and it was a quick read. An old recondition bomber, an awesome crew and a mission from hell. The plot keeps you tense all the way to the end, throughout the story I was constantly blown away that the bomber and crew kept taking a beating and yet were still going. A good fun adventure, might have to re-read one day.

[Jim A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread after 30 years or so. Still an exciting air force thriller. As it's been over 30 years since Brown wrote this, some of the technology is dated. But it still makes for a thrilling read.

Recommend to anyone who hasn't read this.

[Robby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Karen Siddall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book relatively soon after it was originally published and LOVED it. I kept my copy of the book all these years but rather than just pull that copy out of the box it is in I purchased this audiobook copy so I could listen to it on an upcoming car trip. I was so disappointed when I received it to discover it was an abridgement of the original. But it was what I had and I was leaving the next day so on we went.

I hated it. Loved the reader and will look for more performances by him. But this abridgement gutted the story. It was quite difficult to keep up with all the characters - so little information is included on them and it was hard to discriminate between who was who. The jargonese I loved in the original format was difficult to follow as well but that may have been me just being unhappy all the way around.

I will get my saved copy out and re-read it now. I still want to read the rest of the series and I thought the audiobook would get me back on track with the characters.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a Cold War novel I started but didn’t finish in the late 1980s. Too many things were going on in my life and I always meant to get back to this book. I did this week with the audio version from Audible.com. I listened through the six and a half hours straight though.

The Old Dog was a B-52 that had been upgraded with all the best technology of the late 1980s and some that were imagined like like the X-ray laser Star Wars project. The twist in this book is that the Soviets had gotten ahead of the US in laser technology and created a huge ground based radar and orbiting mirror to use in defense. An American spy plane gets caught in the beam “accidentally” and all hands are lost. Indecision by the American president and lack of preparedness leads to this 35 year old plane picking up the slack.

Lots of Cold War nostalgia and cheesiness as seen from today. Some amazing stuff and some pretty unbelievable stuff.

[Drew Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a number of Dale Brown's books with Brad McLanahan as the central character and his father, Patrick McLanahan included. I decided that I wanted to read the first Patrick McLanahan book. I was not disappointed with Flight of the Old Dog. The Old Dog is the name given to a battle[scarred B-52 bomber which was fully renovated with modern hardware and equipped with the deadliest star-of-the-art armaments. I fully agree with Clive Cussler's assessment that it was "Suspenseful and spellbinding". The crew that boarded the plane and got it out of the airbase "Dreamland" to save it from destruction worked together as a team to fly into Russian territory to endeavor to destroy a deadly weapon which the Russians were using against America. The book was full of action and suspense throughout. I plan on getting the other Patrick McLanahan books in the series.

[Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but overly technical at times. That being said, if I ever have to serve on a modified B-52, I won't be completely lost.

[Michael Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Dale Brown’s first in his Air Battle series using his protagonist, Patrick McLanahan. The book was published in 1987, however I believe the technology is new enough, and dense enough, to satisfy readers of tech thrillers. Make no mistake, this is a high-tech thriller pitting the US against Russia in a high tech, strategic battle using air force and space force technology to destroy or minimize each other's early warning systems.

Russia has developed a powerful land-based weapon that can destroy strategic weapons at any place in the rocket’s trajectory. It can also destroy any satellite in earth orbit allowing Russia to destroy all US early warning satellites prior to any nuclear war. Russia has destroyed a US military airplane over 100 miles from the Russian coast and several satellites whose role is monitoring eastern Russia for potential rocket launches, leaving the US blind. The Russian weapon leaves no wreckage and no bodies.

A plan for destroying the Russian weapon using modern fleet aircraft and the best modern weapons is laid on. However, as US planes are nearing the Russian border, they are put on hold. At the same time, Russian special forces are attacking a US air base. Dreamland is where next generation tools and weapons are tested on the ground and mounted on a B-52 (the Old Dog) for testing on the ranges. A random group of USAF pilots, crew, and civilian workers expert on next generation weapons and tools manages to get away with the Old Dog, fully fuelled, and with a full load of weapons.

Battle begins and rages on for 200 pages to the end of the book.

Brown does a great job of the action scenes. The weapon systems are well described. Their use is also described, their impact, and any opposition the foes might use against them. This is one of Brown’s strengths. This book is excellent for battle, offensive and defensive weapons. However, as Brown adds more and more to the future Air Battle series, non-battle aspects consume larger and larger shares of the books. McLanahan begins to have enemies in the USAF. Subordinates, peers, and bosses begin to pirate his work and his career; all looking to promote themselves at his cost. While a full-fledged protagonist needs human emotions and characteristics, the books begin to be more tedious.

In general, the major characters are developed enough that we understand their behavior and have some care for them. This makes the book and the plot more plausible. However, this book is the best of the series that I have read. I enjoyed reading it immensely and it went by quickly. Lots of interest, lots of tension, lots of action. Dale Brown tells a good story. Five stars.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Interesting adventure story in the same vein as James Bond or Jack Ryan. Set in the Cold War with Star Wars military programs and a healthy dose of science fiction. Good story from first time author Dale Brown. Overall it's a good book, but probably a step below the many works of Clancy.

Background: One of the first computer games I bought as a kid was Megafortress. After playing through the tutorials and simple missions I attempted to play "Flight of the Old Dog". After my bomber was intercepted and the mission failed, I was prompted to read Flight of Old Dog to see how to beat the mission. Fast forward 30 years and I finally learned what I was supposed to do.

Dale Brown is a former Air Force navigator working on B-52s and that shows through in his writing. The amount of detail regarding flight operations and military interactions lends realism and depth to the story. As this is his first book, there are some stumbles and growing pains.
The story follows navigator Patrick McLanahan from trophy winning training missions to life and death decisions across the globe. Flight takes place at the end of the Cold War and draws heavily from attitudes and emotions around that time. Reading it today (2020) loses much of the political tension present at that time.

The good points about the book is the treatment of details and fast flowing plot. The story is immersive with enough details to make the technology believe, but not excessive to the point of textbook boredom. The performance and upgrades to an aging B-52 make the story believable. The amount of detail of how to fly and operate the aircraft help to picture the layout and interactions of the crew. The pace of the story is similar to a movie where actions and scenes move by quickly. There are 2 or 3 long chapters that seem to drag on, but for the most part the story is fast paced.

The main detraction for the story is the outlandish events that transpire. It's hard to provide examples without spoiling so I will refrain.

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several novels in the Dreamland series by Dale Brown. “Flight of the Old Dog” is the foundational book in the series, and it sets the tone of adrenaline pumping action and intense military suspense. Despite its name, Old Dog is not old, but a newly refurbished, super high-tech B-52 bomber on steroids. And the hero of the saga is not the pilot, but the navigator as was the author. The Cold War plot pits Russia’s Star Wars-like satellite defense system against the U.S. Air Force. It is up to a dinosaur of a bomber and its capable crew to prevent an escalation toward war.
My only quibble with storyline is that of the 400+ page book, Old Dog doesn’t see active service until the second half. The first half is dedicated to establishing the characters and political posturing. But once the action starts, you can’t put down the book.

[James D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, fundamentally. I read a later book of Brown's first, years ago, and I was drawn to the content. He has a very specific perspective, which is highly educated on the subject matter, so his books are very detailed. Probably overly so at times, which is my one issue. He gets better with ensuing publications by not getting so wrapped up in military language, and the proverbial Acronym Hell, with which that whole world lives. Too much breaks up the rhythm of the story at times in this one, in my opinion. However, it's worth the read to get through it.

Pretty gripping, but overly technical at times. Patrick McLanahan, the main character of this series, is a personality complex enough to bring layers to the story that some books of this genre lack.

[Daniel Coyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. Having been in the military and grew up right outside SAC headquarters in Omaha, Ne. I can relate to the story of military personnel. I liked the way the story followed a B-52 navigator and his struggles with his love for the military and his personal life. The story is a little far fetched and is something that could only happen in a novel but it was fun to imagine the story of an old refurbished B-52 saving the day. It was a little hard to follow as the crew set out on a mission to bomb a facility inside of Russia. It is very hard to believe that a large aircraft no matter how it is protected and modernized could penetrate into Soviet Russia and survive. But it was a fun read.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always interesting to read slightly old books that try to predict the future. This book is written in the mid 80s and have the story take place some five years later.

In the book the old B 52 bombers are obsolete which makes it spectacular that they are still in active duty 30 years later. In the book one of them is turned into a missile platform for testing purposes. This is the old dog which suddenly finds itself in an active situation.

The genre military thrillers is not abundant with good books but this is a fair entry. Of course it's dated but I want to start from the beginning of the series.

[Xsabian Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never a dull moment!

It's been a while since I picked up a book by Dale Brown and I dont know why! Flight of the old dog was perfect. Dale's writing keeps you on the edge of your seat and waiting to turn the page. The vivid description and suspenseful dialogue makes his writing stand out from others. I enjoyed the technical descriptions and story telling of combining new age tech with an old but flighty ready aircraft. Must read for sure and on to the next Dale Brown novel for me.

[Bill Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a teenager, I read this book when it first came out, and I recently picked it up again. Dale set the story at the height of the cold war, and it pits old proven technology against groundbreaking space weapons. Dale does an exciting job of leading the reader through a B52 bombing run in USSR airspace.
This story is an intriguing cold war story that is still relevant. I liked the style and characters. It is also the first book in a vast well-written series. It is still a good read, and I enjoyed rereading it.

[Gennadiy Tsygan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The literature value of this book is nil. The storyline doesn't have a shade of a twist, the characters have personalities of the checkers pieces. The writers vocabulary is short, he seems to have a special liking to the word "huge", i. e. "huge wheels retracted into the huge body" Boooring!
(I listened to the audio book, quite possibly it was abridged, which I usually consider a crime, however in this case it just saved me some time.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It is the story of an older plane that they have outfitted with a lot of new secret devices to experiment to see if they are helpful. They have a crew who has been trained to use each piece, however, they cancel the trials. Then Russia has developed a new laser device which when aimed at a plane vaporizes the plane. The president & the head of the military tell the crew to covertly rid Russia of this device.

[Tom Dinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Love Dale Brown books

I’ve always liked the action, lingo and suspense of the Dale Brown books. The only criticism I have is the time line of the two man refueling and the fact that getting up on the wings of a B-52 in the freezing cold with no scissor lift is impossible. So many turns at the end was not only nerve racking, but exhausting as a reader.

[Deborah Lyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in the series with Patrick McLanahan. The book is slow to start, getting to know the characters and the workings of the old B-52. About page 150 the story takes off like the B-52 on a mission to destroy a base in Russia. Many of the situations the crew faces on the B-52, seem next to impossible but in each instance they pull through.

[Neville · Rating 5 out of 5]

The USSR is using lasers to blow up US equipment. This is another Patrick McLanahan story and I have not found one of his that I have not enjoyed.

The story line is a bit far fetched, but I guess when you look at the issues between USSR and USA in the 60's through to the 70's, then anything would be possible. I enjoyed this read and look forward to the next book with McLanahan.