Fighter Pilot Woes
May 6, 2024 19:26:59 #
Long confinement in the cockpit with little or no room to perform alleviating exercises. A key complaint: Hemorrhoids!
Hours of boring holes in the sky with nothing happening; but then seconds of terrifying combat encounters jerks pilots around both physically and mentally. They pull many g's, now plus 7 g's, then minus 8 g's, kicking the plane all over the sky in combat. Many must be lifted out of the cockpit by the ground crew they are so exhausted upon landing.
Keeping their head on a swivel to spot enemy aircraft quickly is key to survival, and they have only a few seconds to react to picking up the flash of sunlight off the body of a bogie in the distance. Today, this is somewhat changed by the spherical coverage of the radar and other sensors and the new helmet that shows the pilot what is out there on his visor and his needed aircraft data. Still, massive neck aches are a common phenomenon when a mission is over. Tylenol time!
While long-range missile shoots are the order of the day now, with few chances for a real dogfight, the pilot must be able to maneuver expertly when needed to put the pipper on an enemy aircraft and let his gatling gun shred his opponent apart. Doing this successfully at combat speeds in the .7 mach to 1.2 mach range while performing violent maneuvers is a feat that takes long training and superb airmanship.
Splashing an enemy fighter is perhaps the ultimate reward for all that had to happen up to that moment for the pilot. And then getting safely back to base, of course, with a low-pass barrel-roll of victory over the field to signal his success (defying orders naturally, that is what exuberant fighter pilots relish!). And then landing to the cheers of pilots and crews, especially after being hauled out of his fighter and doused with Burb...ah, Kool-Aid.
Hours of boring holes in the sky with nothing happening; but then seconds of terrifying combat encounters jerks pilots around both physically and mentally. They pull many g's, now plus 7 g's, then minus 8 g's, kicking the plane all over the sky in combat. Many must be lifted out of the cockpit by the ground crew they are so exhausted upon landing.
Keeping their head on a swivel to spot enemy aircraft quickly is key to survival, and they have only a few seconds to react to picking up the flash of sunlight off the body of a bogie in the distance. Today, this is somewhat changed by the spherical coverage of the radar and other sensors and the new helmet that shows the pilot what is out there on his visor and his needed aircraft data. Still, massive neck aches are a common phenomenon when a mission is over. Tylenol time!
While long-range missile shoots are the order of the day now, with few chances for a real dogfight, the pilot must be able to maneuver expertly when needed to put the pipper on an enemy aircraft and let his gatling gun shred his opponent apart. Doing this successfully at combat speeds in the .7 mach to 1.2 mach range while performing violent maneuvers is a feat that takes long training and superb airmanship.
Splashing an enemy fighter is perhaps the ultimate reward for all that had to happen up to that moment for the pilot. And then getting safely back to base, of course, with a low-pass barrel-roll of victory over the field to signal his success (defying orders naturally, that is what exuberant fighter pilots relish!). And then landing to the cheers of pilots and crews, especially after being hauled out of his fighter and doused with Burb...ah, Kool-Aid.
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