I seemed to have stung the giant awake with earlier comments about "the
fighter pilot attitude" and "the right stuff". I am concerned that I am being
taken in the wrong way. Probably due to my inability to use the language well
enough to get my point across. So let me try again on this issue.
I orignally wrote:
<<
I have friends who lament the ãfighter pilot attitudeä, who decry ãthe right
stuffä. In my experience ãthe lone eagleä, ãI can do it myselfä, ãdamn the
rest of you, I can handle itä kind of pilot does not last long. In my
twenty-seven years of flying, I kind of liked to have the pilot on my wing or
in lead that knew his system (man, machine ,medium) well enough that we could
get the most out of our mission. The pilot who could consistently make the
right decision about whether to fly with what discrepancies, about when to
press to destination, about when to abort and return to base, was the guy I
sought out. There were others, but most of them were weeded out by the
system. Training, evaluations, supervision, and finally, the other pilots.
>>
It would have better expressed my opinion if it had read like this:
=============================================================
I have friends who lament the ãfighter pilot attitudeä, who decry ãthe right
stuffä. In my experience ãthe lone eagleä, ãI can do it myselfä, ãdamn the
rest of you, I can handle itä kind of pilot does not last long. In my
twenty-seven years of flying, I kind of liked to have the pilot on my wing or
in lead that knew his system (man, machine ,medium) well enough that we could
get the most out of our mission. The pilot who could consistently make the
right decision about whether to fly with what discrepancies, about when to
press to destination, about when to abort and return to base, was the guy I
sought out. That is the guy with the real "fighter pilot attitude". There
were others, but most of them were weeded out by the system: Training,
evaluations, supervision, and finally, the other pilots.
=============================================================
In my 750 hours of combat time in a heavy with lots of guns (AC-130), I flew
in close formation with Marine, Navy, and AF fighter pilots. Some were
working with us as a FAC others were supporting our strikes. All of our work
was done at night, some in close formation and blacked out. Team work,
accurate and brief communication, leadership/followership was what it was all
about. The fighters had to work with us, command and control, the tanker, and
each other. We had the same outside team and a 13 man crew in the aircraft.
The best aviators in that group were those that I tried to describe above.
That is the "fighter pilot attitude" I was trying to describe. By the way, it
is not limited to fighter pilots, or even to pilots; but it is a mark of a
professional aviator.
Ease up guys <G>, that was not intended as a frontal attack, rather as an
endorsement of a phenom that is, as Vince, Bart, and others have rightly
described, a mistaken impression.
Cheers,
Dave Wilson