In Nevada: A Rodeo for Throttle Jockeys

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Behind the mix of reservists and active-duty pilots at Gunsmoke is a troubling career problem. The hottest active-duty pilots often quit the Air Force rather than endure the desk assignments required for higher rank. They join the reserves or Air National Guard, where part-time Air Force life is pure flying. "They think we should aim to be colonel-managers," snorts one throttle jockey. Another problem is resentment against rusty squadron commanders just returned from Pentagon desks who lack the "need for speed" in combat-readiness drills.

Ironically, reserve units with F-16s are getting some of the best scores. "They're fossils," admits Korea-based "driver" Captain Taylor Gates, 29, "but they're good." Indeed they are. An active-duty squad from Hill A.F.B., Utah, won the team competition -- Anderson's team took fifth -- but a fossil, Major Danny Hamilton, 41, flying with a reserve unit at the same Utah base, won the individual award. Not only is Hamilton a former active-duty pilot who bailed out in mid-career rather than fly a desk, he is also a computer expert. He trusts avionics software far more than do his younger, vaguely Luddite colleagues.

Gunsmoke's final two days gave Hamilton a chance to test his faith. The target was an old Navy surplus plane surrounded by protective earthen dikes. Pilots had to approach it "in the weeds" -- 200 feet above ground again -- from 150 miles out, flying over pretarget locations at precise times. Finally, Hamilton and others had to evade smoke missiles while dropping a bulky parachute-equipped 500-lb. bomb. Hamilton, alone among all Gunsmoke pilots, elected to try an F-16 computer program called dive toss. The pilot fixes the target inside a box projected on the up screen, punches his pickle button as if setting an alarm for a wake-up call, then flies toward the target. The computer drops the bomb. "The other pilots would have thought I was crazy to let the computer decide," Hamilton admits. Like a fox. The aging warrior scored a near perfect bull's-eye each time and became this year's top gun.