I'm Dutch, have flown professionally for over thirty years myself. I heard about this show from one the Dutch Air-force pilots that works in Arizona where parts were filmed. Thought it was a show about a group of student pilots getting their training. Had hoped it would show more about the actual flight training. I was wrong. It's basically a soap opera. It takes about two years to train an F16 pilot and there's no room for the shenanigans, hotdogging and busting regulations that they do in the show. Taking an aircraft without it being signed out by a crew chief or without orders would never happen. If it did, you'd be fired faster than you can say "pull up". The first episode disappointed me a bit because of the lack of flying and unrealistic military depiction. The producers took some creative liberties here. Once I accepted the fact that I was looking at a soap opera instead of a documentary I suspended all expectation of reality. That helped making the show enjoyable. It watches like reading an old time adventure book for kids. Everything is very predictable with a mostly happy ending. Watch it with an open mind. If you enjoy aviation and can accept the glaring mis representation of military life, discipline and procedures, you'll enjoy the show. The air to air footage is beautifully filmed. My acquaintance has a few extra parts and there was a closeup of his F16 a few times. He enjoyed working as an advisor and flew with the actors in the F16 for close cockpit shots. It's not Top Gun but in the end I was pleasantly surprised.
