Boyd

John Boyd’s achievements rival those of any other American to walk the earth –– in any field. Some know him as the greatest fighter pilot who ever lived; he could defeat an entire squadron of fighters in less than forty seconds. Some remember him as the designer of America’s most famous fighter planes: the legendary F-15 and F-16. Still others think of him as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu. While these are all true statements, they are only a tiny sample of this giant’s many achievements. John Boyd saved fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command by creating the definitive manual on air-to-air combat tactics –– a manual so effective that it is still used by every country in the world. He discovered a theory that forever changed aircraft design and performance. Later in life, he developed a new theory on human behavior that has been adopted throughout business and even academia.