Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Col. Alec “Bulldog” Spencer at Eglin AFB, near Destin, Florida, December 9, 2024. Before I took my supersonic flight a few weeks ago in the back of an F-16 at Eglin AFB, I had a chance to meet and interview my pilot, Alec "Bulldog" Spencer.
Spencer's been flying the F-16 for 22 years and owns the rank of Colonel, so I figured I was in good hands. Plus the 45-year-old is married with two kids, so I figured he has a pretty good incentive to keep us both safe. At Eglin, which is near Destin, Florida, Spencer not only tests upgrades to the F-16 by flying the planes himself, but oversees other strategic areas of weapons development at the base.
Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation. Jim Clash : Did you ever think about becoming an astronaut? Col. Alec “Bulldog ” Spencer : It really was one of my passions.
I saw all of the moon-landing footage as a young teen, and I did apply. It's a challenging process. The first time, in 2012, there were 4,000 applicants.
Unfortunately, I didn't get in. The number of applicants more than doubled by 2016. I like to tell my wife that I have the "Independence Day" letter that [actor] Will Smith got, saying, "Sorry, you have not been selected [laughs].
” But my heart was in it. One of my test pilot school classmates, Josh Kutryk, was selected to the Canadian astronaut program. So at least one of the 12 in our class made it.
Clash : When you started out in test pilot scho.