What makes a good combat pilot?

[McGillicutty]

I read a question (not mine) over on the Baseops.net forum that I thought would be appropriate to ask here as well.

For those with combat time, what did you notice in your co-pilot/wingman that made them invaluable to the success of the mission? Composure? SA? Golden hands?

What qualities did you find most that ended up a detriment in combat? Whiners? Overconfidence? Poor work ethic?

Any advice for the SNAPs out there about to go through a CAF FTU to better prepare themselves for combat?

 

[stonewall]

Show up, don't bitch, do the job you're trained for. Pretty simple, actually.

 

[Deuce130]

1) Have confidence in yourself, your abilities, your crew. Be prepared to go to war before you get there - mentally and physically.
2) Have trust and confidence in your leadership. Even when it's tough.
3) Be a team player. Better yet, be a team leader.
4) If something is screwed up, then speak up and offer a solution. No solution? Then STFU.
5) Don't bitch. Not about your crew, your mission, your tent, your boss, your stuff back home, your uniform policy, your chow hall, your mail, your phones, your cot, or anything else. See rule #4.
6) SA, SA, SA. Know what is going on and what's about to happen. Be prepared for changes to the mission, pop-up threats, who's talking to you on the radio, and what your plan is.
7) It's a cliche, but be prepared to lead, follow, or get out of the way.
8) Understand risk vs reward, and understand that it's a sliding scale. Acceptable risk can go up and down multiple times throughout a single mission. Be ready to accept high risk, but be smart enough to know when you don't have to.

I'm sure there's more I've forgotten and I'm sure there are multiple perspectives out there. There's a lot of different ways to answer this question, and tomorrow I might have new inspiration to answer it a different way. I'm looking forward to hearing the different answers.

 

[Uppercrust]

I think we should all wait until Mamma has his dialogue/monologue regarding what it takes to fly into combat and all the stresors he has endured before giving advice. Where you at boy!:laugh:

 

[AlbieF15]

To be a good combat pilot, one important step is to be at the right place (or wrong place, depending on perspective) to GET into the combat.

I missed the first Gulf War as a pilot--was on a FAC tour at the time. Lots of frustrated fighter pilots were there doing the same thing.

Have several buddies who flew in Kosovo, including a great friend who shot down a Mig 29. He did a great job. He was also lucky enough to be at Lakenheath at the time. Lots of folks missed that show too...

I also know several very talented weapons officers who were teaching at the WIC during Desert Storm, Deny Flight, and OIF. My former OG is a fantastic fighter pilot, WIC IP, consumate fighter pilot. He didn't get into a "combat" zone until year 17 of his career.

So--certainly didn't answer the question directly, but my point is one key to being an effective combat pilot is getting into combat. Sometimes, that is tougher than it sounds...