Kelly is assigned to train neophyte jet pilots (Nuggets). Hammer, his second in command; Kate, a bar owner; and three nuggets, Burner, Ice and Spoon are introduced.

Ice takes her first flight with Kelly/Raider as her I.P. (Instructor Pilot) in the backseat. Burner is grounded by Hammer for losing his temper when a snob hits his motorcycle but ultimately proves himself and takes his first flight with Hammer as his I.P. Spoon's father, T.H., visits. He surprises Spoon with a girlfriend who is about 2 years younger than Spoon. Spoon is very rude to her. However the sparks fly when T.H. takes business meetings and the two spend the day together.

Ice's plane has a major mechanical problem during her first solo flight and her confidence is shaken, Burner is covers up a water jet ski injury so he won't be grounded until he is 100% healthy and Spoon and his father's girlfriend, Teri, start falling for each other when they spend time together.

Spoon and Teri start an affair. Breaker does not get a S.O.D. for extremely bad flying and then Spoon, thinking about Teri, gets a S.O.D. for approaching the wrong runway, causing friction. A reporter does a negative story about the treatment of female pilots. Burner talks Teri into staying away from Spoon while she thinks things over instead of staying with him.

Breaker's plane suffers a hydraulic failure and she dies trying to land the plane.

While Hammer and Kelly go on a top secret mission, Burner and Spoon find they have their hands full when they try to look after Kelly's ostensibly prim and proper niece. (It is revealed that Hammer was briefly a P.O.W. during the Gulf War.)

Burner may lose his wings for causing a sonic boom while showing off for two women. Also Kate may lose her bar when an underage woman is found with a drink.

A hot shot German pilot shows off and annoys Burner, scares Spoon with his (off screen) reckless driving and romances Ice. But he has a problem which may ground him. Also Spoon gets the wrong idea when Kate asks him probing questions to plan a surprise birthday party for him.

A young man shows up at the Bucket and informs Hammer that he is his son and that his mother has died. The Nuggets train to fly using instrumentation only because at night or in clouds after making high gee moves they can get vertigo and become disoriented. Burner and Spoon volunteer to become judges at a ""talent contest"" (Miss Pensacola).

The Nuggets go to Fallon Air Base to learn low level bombing, where a shifty Lt. Colonel makes trouble for them. Spoon is doubtful when told he is jinxed after breaking an Indian artifact. Burner falls for a woman whose abusive boyfriend turns out to also be her boss. An old friend lodges a complaint against Kelly.

High-scoring Ice is made Strike Leader for a fiercely competitive bombing exercise against missle and fighter defenses. Spoon is attracted to Gunslinger, a pretty blonde operator of missle defenses. Jackal, still angling to obtain Kelly's command, intends to cheat during the Class Strike. And things escalate personally for Burner as he continues his attempts to help the woman with the abusive boyfriend.

A former Blue Angel leader is now recruiting and he offers Hammer a position on the Blue Angels. He also begins a romance with Kate. Burner and Spoon try to play matchmaker between Kate and Kelly.

Meanwhile a retired general who is a fan of Teddy Roosevelt drops by and takes the unit on a fifty mile march with full gear.

During a community relations day, a orphaned boy living with his aunt is kidnapped for ransom.

Ice's mother shows up without calling and arranges a date with Col. Kelly, not knowing that he is Ice's commanding officer. A private propeller plane strays into military airspace and crashes when Spoon flies too close to it. Spoon is put through the wringer in the subsequent ""Mishap investigation.""

Swamp has a loss of confidence both in his flying and when he tries to romance Holly ""of Hollywood."" Burner competes against a new instructor from Top Gun who can't accept losing even though instructors are supposed to be able hold back. Pearly, who was one of Hammer's trainers, is trying to requalify in order to take a fleet assignment, but he seems to have lost his skills.

A nugget, flying as wingman, shoots down his lead in simulated dogfighting (ACM / Air Combat Manuevering). This is called Blue on Blue. Two women seek Spoon's affections while two pilots pursue Ice.

Still in Key West. News reports have a boat with Cuban refugees being fired on by Castro's air force, a family whom the Nuggets are socializing with is directly affected, and a Cuban ace who met Kelly in the past is flying unusually close to the Nuggets training exercises. Also, Paddles has back trouble which may ground him.

Burner meets and falls for a woman with a secret. Kelly and Hammer try to get recognition for a suicidal man who threw himself on a grenade while serving as a marine but lived while the people he tried to save died. Kelly asks Kate on a date? to the retirement party of a General. The Nuggets are evaluated as they go on a ""obstacle course"" (or sortie) ending with a bombing run.

The nuggets practice touch and go landings before trying to land on a carrier, Spoon's father returns, a young acquaintance of Kelly's seeks romance with Ice and a sleep deprivation study needs participants.

Spoon's father comes by with bad news. The Nuggets head out to try landing on an aircraft carrier, a dangerous and difficult skill to master.

On the carrier, Kristi Blake, an actress planning to play a female pilot, studies and bunks with (and annoys) Ice. Spoon thinks of resigning. He confides in Ice about his father's cancer. Burner tries to argue Spoon out of resigning and learns that Spoon's father has cancer. Swamp is unable to make the trap (landing wires) at night and washes out. Burner's plane has a hydraulic problem and he is forced to try an emergency landing.

Someone is trying to kill Kelly and Hammer. Both are shot at, apparently in reprisal for the events of the Raid on Osirak episode. Burner and Spoon compete for a prized spot on the ""Panthers"" while Ice seems to be getting passed over because she is a woman. Burner is the favorite to get the spot but he develops a medical condition which may ground him so Spoon may get the spot by default. The pilots perform in an final exhibition before receiving their duty assignments.

Jack Hightower is talking to Kelly when his car is blown up in Cairo. Kelly reevaluates and decides he wants to be in a combat unit. Another class of nuggets is graduating. Hammer, Major Lewis is applying for a staff position with the 18th M.E.U., with Kelly's encouragement. Kelly talks with Col. Doug Drayton and he asks to be ""the ace"" of the 18th M.E.U. Spoon and Ice, on the same carrier, the ""Connie"", get orders to return to Pensacola. On the way back they meet, Burner, who was based in Turkey. Kelly observes a helicopter pilot flying an attack helicopter, the Cobra. He asks Edward Turelli (cc), call sign Capone to join his unit. At a meeting, Kelly talks to many pilots. The team, the Aviation Combat Element (Ace?) of the 18th M.E.U. is called the Fighting Bandits. Spoon says Flying Bandits although the patch says Fighting Bandits. Hogs, Frogs, Hueys, (types of helicopters?/pilots) Cobras, and jet pilots (jet jockeys) comprise the unit. At the bucket Kate hugs Spoon, Ice

Spoon's car is stolen and, on Kate's advice, he turns to Capone for help. Kelly's daughter visits from college. Kelly recruits Cricket to be in the corner of a boxer.

Burner, Hammer and Kelly are on a carrier. Burner's plane loses radio reception and navigation after possibly being struck by lightning during a storm. Because of heavy rain he cannot see the carrier and he may run out of fuel and crash. Back on shore Spoon and Ice nearly become romantic before Capone alerts them about the danger Burner is in, whereupon they rush to base.

Burner returns to shore and Spoon, Ice and Kate exult in his return from near death, but Burner is joyless. Ice is injured by an explosion and is medically grounded by Lt. Lawrence Brandon, her doctor, until her arm is strong enough to work the ejector lever. Spoon is jealous of the doctor and is having trouble getting over his near romance with Ice. Kelly investigates to try and find where the unexploded ordinance came from.

Spoon and Ice look for a new roommate who can serve as a buffer between them. They and Capone undergo survival training. Kate goes out with their training officer, Capt. Ray Hartley, and becomes a victim of date rape.

Missles are stolen from the base. Schaeffer, a Marine, saves Ice from a fire (on the ground) but when his burning shirt is torn off, a tattoo of a swastika is revealed and he is suspected of the theft. Meanwhile Teri returns (this is after the funeral of Spoon's father) and guilt seems to keep her and Spoon apart. And Ice seems hurt when Spoon uses a toast that Ice taught him on the night they almost became romantic. (Teri, herself and Capone are present.)

The unit will be learning Burke's Breach a combined attack strategem or set of tactics. General Burke, a former mentor of Kelly's, visits the unit, but his strange behavior endangers men during an exercise and Capone's career is threatened. Kelly discovers Burke's behavior may be caused by exposure to chemicals during the Gulf War. Also, Mad Dog makes a video letter, Teri gets a job at the Bucket, Ice is still wistful and Spoon is tricked by a pretty girl and his keys and the unit's mascot (a stuffed animal) are stolen.

A mini mart robbery turns into a hostage situation. Meanwhile Capone tries to help out Kate with the local mob and her jukebox.

Johnny Terelli (Capone's brother) comes to visit but doesn't tell Eddie that he is being pursued by both an FBI agent and a murderous Russian mobster. (Endangering his room mates, Spoon and Ice.) Country musician Gary Allan gives Kate and Mad Dog backstage passes and sings Smoke Rings in the Dark. And the saga of the toy animal mascot continues.

Spoon gets a visit from an old friend whose lies put him in an uncomfortable position. The worthless son of a famed pilot causes problems on a mission led by Spoon and Ice. Capone arranges a photo shoot at the beach house with a bevy of scantily-clad women.

A reckless private collects some ordinance after an exercise instead of calling EOD. While doing an inventory, Spoon and Abby/Mad Dog are caught in an explosion and Capone is hit by the edge. Spoon starts hallucinating (with the hallucinations often referencing a canceled golf game) as he drifts in and out of consciousness, but rescuers can not get to them until unexploded ordinance is dealt with. Kelly and Hammer try to determine what happened.

Hammer, Kelly and Ice fly some replacement Hornets out to an aircraft carrier and are assigned a supporting role in a combat mission. Kelly becomes an ace. Meanwhile Kate investigates her deceased husband's past after she finds a picture of a woman whom she thinks he had an affair with.

Spoiler

Kate finds out he had a daughter born in Vietnam before he met her. Her husband died just a few days before effecting a reconciliation with his daughter.

After a helo pilot fails a training test, he gets himself killed, and Kelly is accused in an Article 32 hearing. The deceased marine wrote letters to his mother, a congresswoman, which contradict the truth and seemingly prove Kelly's guilt. Spoon, Mad Dog and Capone testify. Hammer and Col. Drayton offer moral support.

After a case of spousal abuse, Kelly goes to Washington to ask for raises for enlisted men. There he meets Ali, an old flame, and they rekindle the fire. Ice goes out with Dr. Brandon. Hammer has a close call.

When Spoon's plane malfunctions, counterfeit parts are discovered to be the cause and an investigation begins. Hammer meets a lawyer who feigns interest in him but is actually questioning him. Kate's niece, Megan, is running the Bucket in her absence. Meanwhile Teri handles the estate of Spoon's father and as a result, receives a lucrative job offer.

After his daughter is injured in an automobile accident, Kelly takes her out on an plane trip to a remote cabin but then the small plane starts having mechanical problems. They land, but have no way of calling for help and she starts having complications from the first accident and may die. Hammer, Capone and Ice try to find them.

Also Capone and Ice train in live fire hostage rescue exercises. Hammer is one of the trainers.

Capone and Ice discover a skeleton beneath their house which they are renting from a hit man relation of Capone's who is in jail.

It's Blaze vs Ice in the Pensacola Shootout where the Marines, Air Force, Navy and RAF all send two of their best pilots to compete. Spoon is Ice's wingman. Also there is an opening for a female astronaut; Hammer worries that Megan has a drinking problem.

Abby/Mad Dog/Abigail Holley meets an attractive man, Mark, coaching soccer and begins a love affair with him. Then she finds out that the man is already married, and worse, to a marine sergeant air controller whom was under investigation for a near miss involving her. The man tells his wife that Abby blackmailed him into sex for testimony clearing her. Abby is investigated and she is to be reassigned. She must try to convince the woman that they both were tricked by this lothario.

For community service, Megan Ryan is assigned to work for Helen Williams at an agency which tries to give children with cancer one of their top three wishes. However Kevin, the boy she is given only wants one thing, to fly in a fighter jet and even though she asks Kelly, it is against regulations that he can not override.

Burner returns, attached to the ""Special Operations Training Group,"" to prepare the 18th M.E.U. for a mission.

spoilers Hammer and Kelly talk. Kelly is starting to come under scrutiny for a promotion. He has been passed over for promotion twice must either be promoted this time or retire. Burner, who grounded himself, returns attached to special ops training. Burner stays with Ice and Capone, clashes with Capone, and shares a kiss with Megan. While training for a mission, Capone is involved in a crash. He walks away but his co-pilot/gunner is on life support. The injured man, who just got engaged, dies. Capone considers quitting but, after talking to Burner, he decides to stay.

When a peace-keeping mission strands Burner in the jungles of San Felipe with rebel forces searching for him, Kelly and Hammer try to get permission to mount a rescue.

Kelly returns to his hometown, Marfa, Texas, to be honored. He discovers two bodies. Back at the base Capone and Spoon talk to recruiters.

Spoilers Kelly's estranged brother was the good friend of one and turns out to be involved in murder and drug smuggling. He used the money to save the family farm/ranch. An allegedly crooked cop killed one smuggler to steal the drugs and money and was shot and killed by another friend. The friend who shot the crooked cop commits suicide but makes it look like a plane accident.

When fears of a terrorist attack cause a special exercise to be delayed, the assassin sneaks away and becomes a threat to Kelly and Hammer. Kate returns, considering another's marriage proposal when she gets no encouraging signs from Kelly. Spoon and Ice's relatonship heats up to the point that Kelly says one of them will have to be reassigned elsewhere.