What makes a good fighter pilot?

[Kyt]

Following on from Adrian's question, I wondered what makes a good fighter pilot? In the poll I've included factors that play a part but which do you think is the most important? And why?

If you choose 'Other' explain what you think it is.

[Antipodean Andy]

Have just been reading a little bit about "Pat" Pattle. I was on the verge of selecting "Other" and putting all of the above for what a fighter pilot needs but Pattle was very successful in the Gladiator against German front line gear. This is what has influenced my vote! Mind you, the Glad wasn't half bad!

[Kitty]

Having read biographies on both fighter and bomber pilots then I would say that the fighter pilot needed to be very independant. once the battle started he had to look out for himself and maybe his Wingman, but that was it. he was alone, he needed to be a capable flyer, instinctive, very quick thinking, and aggresive.
In opposition the bomber pilot had to be steady, sure, a good flyer, always thinking of his crew before himself, nerves of steel and icy cold. And most importantly a team leader.
The most successful fighter pilots began to develop the team ethic of the bomber pilots in order to lead the wings, liek Bader or Johnson, but in the end the Fighter pilot, in my opinion, needed to be a maverick whilst the bomber pilot needed to be dependable.

[morse1001]

Chuck yeager says in his autobiography that it is the skills of the pilot and not the aircraft.

[Kyt]

Originally Posted by morse1001

Chuck yeager says in his autobiography that it is the skills of the pilot and not the aircraft.

Morse, does he say whether those skills are taught or intuitive?

[morse1001]

Originally Posted by Kyt

Morse, does he say whether those skills are taught or intuitive?

He does not really go into the matter in great detail. He mentions it when he is talking about a "combat" between himself and a fellow test pilot and yeager was flying a P80 against a P84. Yeager won.

[Adrian Roberts]

I voted natural ability but of course all of the above are important.

I particularly remember an article somewhere about the role of spatial awareness as being decisive in air combat.

What that implies is that the skills of a great fighter pilot are the same as the skills of a great footballer (which is why I would have been crap). A footballer, or a fighter pilot, not only needs superb eye/mind/body co-ordination, but also needs to be able to track several events happening around him at once, i.e. not only the presence of other players/aircraft but whether they are friend or foe and the level of threat they present. He has to make complex decisions based on all these factors in fractions of a second; to plan aggression and self-preservation simultaneously, and his aggression has to be controlled and directed.

Whereas the Bomber pilot had to get on with his very complex job when all he could do about the dangers he faced was to hope that nothing would happen - being even more vulnerable to random events than the fighter pilot. Different skills but just as demanding. Very occasionally in my own job I find that with all the Risk Assessment and planning you can do, sometimes you just have to hope everything will be alright - magnify this a thousand times for bomber crew.

[Kitty]

At the RAF Top Gun school the pilots are sat in front of a computer screen and they have to track symbols and shapes on the screen, tagging them with the mouse as they move randomly by, but also at the same time complete equations presented to them in a set time limit.
And as they progress the shapes move faster and the equations get more protracted.
It seems the female pilots cope with this better than the male.

[Adrian Roberts]

It seems the female pilots cope with this better than the male.

This is because women have over thousands of years evolved the capacity to track several children at once while cooking, ironing and making the shopping list.

[Antipodean Andy]

Careful, AR!