Brian Shul Brian Shul ( born 1948 ) , is a Vietnam - era USAF fighter pilot and a retired major in the United States Air Force ( USAF ) . He flew 212 combat missions and was shot down near the end of the war . He was so badly burned that he was given next to no chance to live . Surviving , he returned to full flight status , flying the SR - 71 Blackbird . Major Brian Shul completed a 20 year career in the Air Force . He has written four books on aviation and runs a photo studio in Marysville , California . Biography . Brian Shul was born in Quantico , Virginia , in 1948 . He graduated from Radford High School in Honolulu , Hawaii in 1966 and from East Carolina University in 1970 with a degree in History . That same year he joined the Air Force and attended pilot training at Reese AFB in Texas . Shul served as a Foreign Air Advisor in the Vietnam War , flying 212 close air support missions in conjunction with Air America . Near the end of all hostilities , his AT - 28 aircraft was shot down near the Cambodian border . Unable to eject from the aircraft , Shul was forced to crash land into the jungle . After surviving , he suffered severe burns in the ensuing fireball . Crawling from the burning wreckage , he was finally found and rescued by an Air Force Pararescue team . He was evacuated to a military hospital in Okinawa where he was expected to die . Barely surviving 2 months of intensive care , in 1974 he was flown to the Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston , Texas . During the following year , he underwent 15 major operations . During this time he was told by physicians that he ’ d never fly again and was lucky to be alive . Months of physical therapy followed , enabling Shul to eventually pass a flight physical and return to active flying duty . Two days after being released from the hospital , Brian was back flying Air Force fighter jet aircraft . He went on to fly the A - 7D , and was then selected to be a part of the first operational A - 10 squadron at Myrtle Beach , SC , where he was on the first A - 10 air show demonstration team . After a tour as an A - 10 Instructor Pilot at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona , he went on to instruct at the Air Force ’ s Fighter Lead - In School as the Chief of Air - to - Ground Academics . As a final assignment in his career , Shul volunteered for and was selected to fly the SR - 71 . This assignment required an astronaut type physical just to qualify , and Shul passed with no waivers . Shul ’ s comeback story from lying near dead in the jungle of Southeast Asia , to later flying the world ’ s fastest , highest flying jet , has been the subject of numerous magazine articles . Shul also made an Air Force safety video titled " Sierra Hotel " where he described his crash ordeal in explicit detail in order to motivate other USAF pilots to be more safety conscious and teaching them how to better survive such incidents . After 20 years and 5000 hours in fighter jets , Shul retired from the Air Force in 1990 and went on to pursue his writing and photographic interests . In addition to running his own photo studio in northern California , he has authored seven books on flying and flight photography . His first two books ( " Sled Driver : Flying The World ' s Fastest Jet " and " The Untouchables " ) are about flying the SR - 71 Blackbird and give the reader a first - hand account of being in the cockpit of the world ’ s fastest jet . Shul ’ s third and fourth books are about America ’ s air demonstration teams , the Navy Blue Angels , in " Blue Angels : A Portrait of Gold " , and the Air Force Thunderbirds , in " Summer Thunder " and contain aerial images which take the reader into the dynamic formations of these world famous teams . In 1997 , Shul released his fifth book , " Eagle Eyes : Action Photography from the Cutting Edge " , which is a collection of his in - flight photos . He has also released special , revised editions of both " Sled Driver " and " The Untouchables " . Shul has spoken at numerous functions nationwide on his experiences . Shul has also been honored as an Outstanding Alumnus from East Carolina University . He owns Gallery One , a photo studio in northern California , and divides his time between writing , photography , public speaking , and backpacking in the high Sierras .