Clockwise from top center: The 64th Aggressor Squadron, 1980; At t F-4 upgrade school, 1970; Final flight – leaving the weapons school, 1979; Captain Wilson, ground school instructor, taking a break with guest lecturer; F-4 upgraded training, George AFB, Victorville, CA 1970; Weapons school team wins Topgun award at Luke AFB; Leaving Thailand,1974 – pictured with hooch maid.
If you see a vehicle with the tag REDAIR around town, the driver would more than likely be Bill Wilson! “When I finished at the F-5 Weapons School, I joined the Aggressors at Nellis AFB in Vegas. We flew against the F-4, F-15, and F-16 weapons schools and traveled around the country teaching air-to-air combat. We also played the “bad guys” in the big Red Flag Exercises at Nellis, where we were called Red Air,” said Wilson.
He entered the Air Force in 1969 from ROTC at OU and completed pilot training at Vance AFB in Enid. He then went to F-4s in Okinawa, Japan and Korat, Thailand. “I then trained foreign pilots in the F-5 Fighter Weapons School in Phoenix and then went on to the Aggressor Squadron at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas.” The Northrop F-5 was built for export and sold to over 30 countries; and the squadron trained the pilots flying it. “While I was there, the Air Force set up a Fighter Weapons School for advanced training,” Wilson said.
Pilots who graduated from the weapons school went back to their squadrons to teach weapons and tactics—similar to what is seen in the original Top Gun. Wilson said, “In the Air Force, we trained using the same aircraft as the students. At the time, the F-5 was also used by the Aggressor Squadrons to simulate enemy aircraft.”
Wilson began his real estate career in 1995, when he and his wife Charlene started Paradigm Realty. He said his Air Force experience also translates well to real estate. “Staying calm in high-stress situations, multitasking, and making quick decisions under pressure were all part of the job, and they’re just as valuable when handling complex transactions, multiple clients, and fast-moving deals in real estate.”
From Left: Dad visits at Kessler AFB in Biloxi Mississippi, Christmas 1979; Standing in dorm room, March 1980. These pictures, from her days of technical training school, are the only that remain of her military days due to a 1991 housefire.
“I got my MRP certification so that I could really be helpful to active duty personnel and veterans. So far I’ve worked with a few veterans and it was comforting to them to know I served too. Plus I’ve used my VA loan to buy a house, so I’m not concerned or confused about that process, ” said Lisa Leckrone.
She served in the Air Force from 1979 to 1983, stationed at Castle AFB in central California. “The base has been closed for a long time, but when I was there it was the busiest for flying of all the strategic air command bases in the US. I was an Air Traffic Controller and joined the USAF to do that job specifically.”
Immediately after the Air Force, Leckrone went on to work for the Department of Defense as a civilian ATC for two years at Naval Air Station Point in Mugu, California. “Then for the next 31 years, I worked for the FAA in Omaha, Kansas City, and Sacramento,” she said. She retired at the FAA Academy at Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, where she taught and evaluated ATC students, in 2016.
Leckrone started real estate school in December 2018. “After being retired for two years I wanted to do something completely different and unrelated to aviation. I loved watching HGTV house hunters show,” she said.