There likely is not a male in America beyond the age of ten who hasn’t at one time or another imagined himself behind the controls of a Navy jet—rocketing off the bow of an aircraft carrier or twisting through the sky in deadly aerial duels with enemy aircraft. It is the stuff of Top Gun, the movie. But increasingly it isn’t just males who are caught up in the dream of flying for our nation’s sea service; more and more women aspire to the same goal. And naval aviation isn’t just jets and aircraft carriers, it is helicopters and big, multi-engine patrol aircraft as well as the men and women who maintain and support them. Likewise, naval aviation isn’t just made up of the Navy, but the Marine Corps’ air element—one of the biggest air forces in the world in its own right—is pure naval aviation; Marine crews are trained by the Navy and operate side-by-side with their sea service brothers through their entire careers. Neither should the Coast Guard be forgotten.

Stout's book, complete with more than 200 color photographs, is the first of its kind in years to outline the training that young men and women undertake to earn their coveted "Wings of Gold."  The work outlines the various routes that lead to assignment as a Student Naval Aviator, and then describes the different sorts of training that an individual will experience to be qualified as a jet, helicopter or multi-engine pilot.  His own experience as a naval aviator helps to lend authenticity and credibility to the book, and ensures that the material is presented in a factual, yet readable style.