Fantasy of Flight is thrilled to host real heroes at Roar n' Soar, World War II veterans who achieved the prestigious title of Fighter Ace during their service. Several of these brave, determined and highly accomplished pilots will share their real-life WW II aerial battle experiences in an interactive format during Roar n' Soar's "Ask the Expert" featured sessions on November 7 and 8. Special thanks to the Florida Friends of the American Fighter Aces Association. Lt. Col. A.T. House taxiing his P-40 Warhawk called "Poopy II" in New Guinea. Lt. Col. House is one of several Fighter Aces scheduled to appear at Roar n' Soar. Fighter Aces: The Original "Top Guns" It is said fighter pilots fall into two broad categories: those who go out to shoot and those who secretly, perhaps desperately know they are going out to be shot at. The "hunters" and the "hunted." It didn't take long flying with or against a man to feel out his courage, spirit, skill, and determination. Either he was a hunter or he was the hunted. One might say that for the Fighter Ace; the issue in the air was never in doubt. And for this reason the fighter pilot occupies a special place in the hearts of his fellow men. So just has the impersonal nature of modern warfare grown to what we know it today, so did the fighter aces rise above their fellow fighter pilots. So what is a Fighter Ace? A fighter ace is a fighter pilot who shot down five or more enemy aircraft while both aircraft were in the air. A fighter ace is very elusive and far beyond the grasp of the ordinary fighter pilot. As a result, the United States produced over 40,000 fighter pilots during WWII with only 1, 314 becoming fighter aces. The American Fighter Ace downed over 9,100 enemy aircraft during WWII which translates into nearly 50% of all American aerial victories. This includes all branches of the service, U.S. Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Air Corps. Many aces had common qualities, such as an overwhelming drive to fly in combat against the enemy and would not accept any verdict to the contrary. If they washed out in training, they simply would pack their bags and go across the border to fly with the RCAF in Canada. An Ace possessed the blend of shooting and flying ability, intuition and eyesight, physical coordination and endurance, instinct and technology, luck and opportunity, all welded together by the drive for combat.