“You’ve got to Push it up to take off.  And you have to take-off to fly!” I’ll never forget the first time I flew the F-16.  The rush of adrenaline was amazing. The tower controller cleared me for take-off and from the back seat my instructor pilot, Captain “Deke” Slaton, called out over the intercom, “Push it up, Waldo!” “Yes, Sir!” I replied. I nervously pushed up that throttle to full power and felt a kick in the seat unlike anything I’ve experienced ...