Page 16 - COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY AUGUST 2017
P. 16
14
ACHIEVEMENT LESSONS FROM ACE
OF THE ACES
By C&I Editorial Team
Giora Epstein, now see between five and eight miles. Most tales are usually on the
Giora Even, is Most averaged eight miles and triumphs. Much of the time the
a retired Israeli many outliers sited aircrafts 12 struggles fail to get attention. In
Airforce pilot. miles away. the case of Epstein, his successes
He holds the are captured in multiple places
status “ace of the As documented in Popular including documentaries, but few
aces†earned due to his combat kill Mechanics, “Israeli fighter pilot tell the tales of his earlier misses
record with supersonic fighter jets. Giora Epstein is the ace of aces for in trying to join the IDF, and even
He not only holds a record among supersonic fighter jets and of the the heart stopping moments he
his Israeli peers, but on the global Israeli Air Force. His 17 victories experience during the dog fights,
platform as well. are the most of any pilot in modern and what kept him grounded.
Epstein is kind of a legend. He fighter jet era. Epstein earned the
failed to meet the entry cut off in his nickname "Hawkeye" for his acute When he was doing his
first attempt to join Israeli Defense eyesight, and it was said among assignments as a paratrooper,
Forces flying school on account of his the Israeli military that he could Epstein ensured he did way more
heart condition. He was adjudged spot an enemy aircraft 24 miles than was expected and kept clean
as physically unfit to fly. Instead of out, about three times farther than records in his unit. This outstanding
dropping his ambition, he started off other pilots.†performance endeared him to his
as a paratrooper. leaders and their blessings were
Later on Epstein would change “ His first kill was against easy in coming when he needed
his name to Even meaning stone in an Egyptian Sukhoi Su-7 in the advancement.
his native Hebrew. famous Six-Day War, when Egypt,
The young Epstein never Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq In life you hardly get what you
dropped his dream of flying fighter declared war on Israel with the want. But almost all the time you
jets. It was his biggest dream, his support of essentially the entire get what you deserve. To deserve
definite major calling. After doing Middle-east, but Israel used its anything you better become the kind
duty as a paratrooper for two significant technological advantage of person who gets the kind of thing
years while working on his health, in aerial warfare to destroy the you want to have. Becoming such a
he returned to the flying school Arab countries' airfields and end person takes clarity of purpose and
recruiter and during this second the war in just six days. Epstein continuous action.
attempt, he was accepted as a downed four more aircraft in the
fighter pilot trainee. His persistence, War of Attrition and achieved Epstein was certain that he
and focusing more on his goal, doing his remaining 12 victories in the wanted to serve his country with all
all he could in his disadvantaged Yom Kippur War in 1973, again his energy and dedication.
position had paid off. against Egypt and Syria. Nine of
During Epstein’s training, the his victories were in an Israeli IAI In one of his many
higher command and his peers Nesher, while the other eight came documentaries Epstein says that
noticed his extraordinary spotting in a delta wing Mirage III aircraft. every time he was engaged in a dog
ability. He was capable of seeing Most of his kills were accomplished fight air combat, he kept telling
an aircraft as far as 24 miles away. with cannon fire, though Epstein himself that as long as he had fuel
That is about three times the downed five aircraft with air-to-air and ammunition, he will never get
average ability of fighter pilots, who missiles.†out of a fight. And he always fought
to the end.
His determination came to bear
when he was engaged in the 1967
Commerce & Industry August Issue 2017 Exclusive Briefs
