Athlete's and Pilots

[Pistlpetet]

A bunch of horse ********************e!

Being a good pilot is all about what is between your two ears.

Plus if that was the case the AF would be a lot more PT orientated.

There is a lot more to being a good "dude" then playing sports. Forget the Sword, I rather have a guy with a HUGE sack I can rely on, and you don't know who that is until the ********************e hits the fan.

 

[Gorilla]

Interesting premise. Fighter types MUST be conditioned. Scoff all you want, but it's true. The closest analogy is wrestling; not much movement, but massive energy expenditure. Any decent air-air sortie will really wring you out physically.

Now to connect athletic attitudes with flying aptitude (and by flying, I'm talking about flying A to B and nothing else) I have my doubts. I think that engineer/science types do have an advantage, not because they are thinking about lift and drag, but because their minds are detached, analytical, and less prone to emotional outbursts. Fuzzy study types - not as good. Generalizations only.

 

[HarryShadow]

All that aside, I've met too many non-athletes who make the grade as a pilot to agree with such a broad generalization. Soooo.... who was the "Athlete" at the 9th SOS (or 550th??) who won't let go of the glory days??

For the purpose of this conversation, I would consider an athlete as anyone who played competitive sports at some point in their life. I know this opens up a whole new topic of what constitues an athlete (i.e., bowlers, golfers, NASCAR drivers, etc).

I agree that someone who never played sports is extremely capable of being a bad a** pilot/leader, and I know a bunch. But as a whole, do “athletes” represent the larger majority of pilots???

As far as the “athlete” at the 9th /550th SOS who won’t let it go…some WPS grad I know!!! imp:

 

[HarryShadow]

I think that engineer/science types do have an advantage, not because they are thinking about lift and drag, but because their minds are detached, analytical, and less prone to emotional outbursts. Fuzzy study types - not as good. Generalizations only.

Good point!

 

[Spooky 2]

Dudesmanship is a higly technical, much misunderstood term. To sum it up, it has a lot to do with having a "baby's arm". And if your not familiar with that term, you'll need to google it. So it does relate to being a swordsman, of sorts.

Good thing you don't take offense to my kidding. I just have issues, as my mom beat me at scrabble as a child, over and over again.

Three years in Golden Gloves, two more in high school football did nothing for me except bend my nose and give sore knees for years to come. I was never very good at either sport. It certainly had little to do with flying ability. I wonder what percentage of the astronaut cadre have serious athletic background. Ditto for some of the great test pilots of the past.

 

[AA717driver]

Brains and fine motor skills. Most "athletes" I've known shouldn't be airplane passengers, let alone pilots. TC

 

[BoilerUP]

There are plenty of fatass pilots out there in the airlines flying everything from RJs to 747-400s, and they do a fine job...and I'd imagine they probably played baseball or football or basketball at some point when they were in school.

I played Little League & Babe Ruth, middle school basketball, peewee & high school football, and got into running during college. To this day I try to do 10-15 miles per week, have done probably 8 road races (5K-half marathon) in the last few years and can run a 21min 5K, not blazing but not shabby. I'm starting training now for another Half this coming spring, hoping for PRs of a 45min 10K in training and a 1:45 in the actual half.

Does any of that make me a better pilot? NOPE...but it does keep me in shape on the road, eating crap food & having irregular sleep schedules.

 

[stonewall]

There are plenty of fatass pilots out there in the airlines flying everything from RJs to 747-400s, and they do a fine job...and I'd imagine they probably played baseball or football or basketball at some point when they were in school.

I played Little League & Babe Ruth, middle school basketball, peewee & high school football, and got into running during college. To this day I try to do 10-15 miles per week, have done probably 8 road races (5K-half marathon) in the last few years and can run a 21min 5K, not blazing but not shabby. I'm starting training now for another Half this coming spring, hoping for PRs of a 45min 10K in training and a 1:45 in the actual half.

Does any of that make me a better pilot? NOPE...but it does keep me in shape on the road, eating crap food & having irregular sleep schedules.

How do you know it doesn't make you a better pilot? I think what this thread should be asking is whether or not people with better hand-eye coordination and a competitive streak make better pilots? I don't think "conditioning" has anything to do with flying at all...some marathon runners couldn't catch a basketball from 10 feet.

I'd venture to say the same skills that make people better athletes (meaning primarily hand-eye coordination as well as physical coordination...like how to catch stuff) make them better pilots. It's not really surprising that one set of physical attributes can make you better at two different and, for the most part, unrelated activities.

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

I think what makes a pilot have above average skills is just not just what's between the ears but as Magnum said hand eye coordination. I think that almost any sport the be good or really good requires good hand eye coordination, I think the same can be said for being a pilot. GO out and do aerobatics, tell me that doesn't require good hand eye coordination. Yes there are some real fatasses out there flying but I can promise you they won't 't be as good at aerobatics as some athlete who's in shape simple due to the fact there reaction time is slower.

On a side note most of the "athletes" and I use that term loosely at the service academy's where for the most part smart kids in high school who happen to be pretty descent at there given sport. I wrestled Division one and most our guys sitting the bench (I did the first yr or so myself) could beat there starters.

 

[milplt]

I wouldn't get too caught up in the "plenty of fat-ass pilots out there.." thinking for this thread. I think that you have to focus on the traits of the potential pilot before he became senior, like did athletic traits help get him to UPT and through UPT. If that is the case, I would say yes.

It was competetive to get to UPT, and an athletic background went a long way in the selection process from what I have seen. And it takes the ability to quickly process information and react to excel in UPT, and I think those with athletic experience have an advantage. It isn't just "hand-eye coordination" that is required.

For those who have moved on from active duty and live in regular neighborhoods, look at your non-pilot neighbors. Are they, as a whole, as "athletic" as your former squadron-mates?

You can always find individual pilots who are non-athletic, and you can obviously find individual non-pilots who are. But, walk in to any bank or other everyday setting and see if the mold matches the squadron.

I'd say the on average, pilots are a little more "athletic" than non-pilots (OK, not CCT dudes, etc. - more like the dudes over at the MPF) and that is because it was there from the start.