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firstimpulse
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 Posted: Oct 10, 2012 - 12:46 AM
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Senior member
Joined: Jan 12, 2012 - 06:21 PM
Posts: 312
Status: Offline
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Wasn't sure where to post this question, but here goes...
Awhile back I was reading up on fighter-driver training, and I found that modern American pilots (of both the Navy and AF) are far more clean-cut and educated than their counterparts from back in the day. My question is, when did this trend start?
80's? 90's?
All I know is that back in the Vietnam era, we were sending teenagers off the decks of carriers with nukes strapped to their backs, and now you can't get near a plane till you've got more booksmarts than some of the people that built the craft you're flying.
..which is almost definitely a good thing, but I still wonder when it all changed. |
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Sponsor
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 Posted: May 25, 2013 - 3:23 PM
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F-16.net Sponsor
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madrat
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Posted: Oct 10, 2012 - 12:56 AM
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Forum Veteran
Joined: Mar 03, 2010 - 03:12 AM
Posts: 986
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| And gosh darn it, they require good eyesight, too. The nerve! Really it only sucks for guys like me. |
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southernphantom
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Posted: Oct 10, 2012 - 03:21 AM
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Forum Veteran
Joined: Aug 06, 2011 - 06:18 PM
Posts: 747
Location: Somewhere in Dixie
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Once the Cold War ended. Force cutbacks mean that the AF can afford to trim to only the best. When we find ourselves in a large-scale conventional war (i.e. when it all comes due in the Med), you might just see a lot of history repeating itself.
Peace brings complacency; complacency brings death. |
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huggy
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Posted: Oct 10, 2012 - 08:14 AM
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Senior member
Joined: Jan 27, 2004 - 07:39 AM
Posts: 349
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firstimpulse wrote:
All I know is that back in the Vietnam era, we were sending teenagers off the decks of carriers with nukes strapped to their backs,...
I believe this is quite an exaggeration.
They required degrees, just like we do today. |
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maus92
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Posted: Oct 10, 2012 - 04:11 PM
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Elite 1K
Joined: May 21, 2010 - 06:50 PM
Posts: 1190
Location: Annapolis, MD
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madrat wrote:
And gosh darn it, they require good eyesight, too. The nerve! Really it only sucks for guys like me.
But bad eyesight doesn't preclude you to becoming a Naval Aviator as it did in the past - the Navy allows PRK surgery to correct vision, and in some cases will pay for it. |
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madrat
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Posted: Oct 10, 2012 - 05:07 PM
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Forum Veteran
Joined: Mar 03, 2010 - 03:12 AM
Posts: 986
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I got too old by the time they opened up PRK options.  |
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firstimpulse
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Posted: Oct 10, 2012 - 10:51 PM
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Senior member
Joined: Jan 12, 2012 - 06:21 PM
Posts: 312
Status: Offline
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southernphantom wrote:
Once the Cold War ended. Force cutbacks mean that the AF can afford to trim to only the best. When we find ourselves in a large-scale conventional war (i.e. when it all comes due in the Med), you might just see a lot of history repeating itself.
Peace brings complacency; complacency brings death.
Thanks, this is the info I wanted. Interesting take. |
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huggy
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Posted: Oct 20, 2012 - 07:04 PM
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Senior member
Joined: Jan 27, 2004 - 07:39 AM
Posts: 349
Status: Offline
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firstimpulse wrote:
...but I still wonder when it all changed.
As someone who has been a military pilot since 1985, it hasn't changed during my time. |
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