Yep. It was. And I knew it was time to leave the Navy when I realized I was bored flying 360 knots 5 feet above the straight road down the center of the Panamint Valley on my way to China Lake targets. That instant is burned in my memory as the moment I'd become complacent pushing the edge of the envelope. Fun times. No regrets. And I lived to write these words. 28 of my friends weren't so lucky...and it was peacetime, Cold War flying.that has to be the best job in the world!
I'll have to read the book and watch the movie again.