Fighter pilot

A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage other aircraft and typically pilots a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting (close range aerial combat). Notable fighter pilots include Oswald Boelcke, Manfred von Richtofen, René Fonck, Eddie Rickenbacker, Richard Bong, Frank Luke, Eugene Bullard, Max Immelmann, Douglas Bader, Sailor Malan, Duke Cunningham, John Boyd, Robin Olds, Giora Epstein and Erich Hartmann (the all time highest scoring fighter ace with 352 confirmed kills).

Fitness

Fighter pilots must be in excellent health in order to handle the strange bodily effects caused by modern aerial warfare. Excellent heart condition is required, as g-forces have a tendency to suck blood away from the brain. Although a strong heart and stamina are required, fighter pilots also require to have strong muscle tissue along the extremities and abdomen. Excellent vision remains de rigueur for the modern pilot.

Strong muscle tissue is required for when the fighter pilot performs an M1. When he flexes his arms, legs, and abdomen, the muscles in those areas press veins and arteries up between the skin and muscle, restricting blood flow to and from the head, but mainly from the head, since arteries (the carriers of oxygen-rich blood) are generally deeper beneath the skin than veins.

Tactics

Offensive

Modern medium and long range active radar homing and semi-active radar homing missiles can be fired at targets outside or beyond visual range. However, when a pilot is dogfighting at short-range, his position relative to the opponent is decidedly important. Outperformance of another pilot and that pilot's aircraft is critical to maintain the upper-hand. A common saying for dogfighting is "lose sight, lose the fight", "nose high goes high", "2's blind" and "save the fat one for me."

If one pilot had a greater missile range than the other, he would choose to fire his missile first, before being in range of the enemy's missile. Normally, the facts of an enemy's weapon payload is unknown, and are revealed as the fight progresses.

Some air combat maneuvers form the basis for the sport of aerobatics

*Basic
**Split S
**Immelmann turn
**Thach Weave
**The Scissors
**Chandelle

*Complex
**Pugachev's Cobra
**Herbst maneuver

Defensive

Pilots are trained to employ specific tactics and maneuvers when they are under attack. Attacks from missiles are usually countered with electronic countermeasures and chaff. Missiles like the AIM-120 AMRAAM, however, can actively home in on jamming signals.

When dogfighting at the distance of 1-4 miles, it is considered "close." Pilots perform more stressful maneuvers in order to gain an advantage in the dogfight. Pilots need to be in good shape in order to handle the high G-Forces caused by aerial combat. A pilot will flex his legs and torso in order to keep the blood from draining out of the head. This is known as the AGSM or M1; or, sometimes, as the "grunt."

Defense against missiles

Many early air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles had very simple infrared homing ("heat seeking") guidance systems with a narrow field of view. These missiles could be avoided by simple turning sharply and which essentially caused the missile to lose sight of the target aircraft. Another tactic was to exploit a missile's limited range by performing evasive maneuvres until the missiles had run out of fuel.

Modern infrared missiles, like the AIM-9 Sidewinder, have a more advanced guidance system. Supercooled infrared detectors help the missile find a possible exhaust source, and software assists the missile in flying towards its target. Pilots normally drop flares to confuse or decoy these missiles. Newer missiles, like the AIM-9X Sidewinder, however, are not confused by these countermeasures.

Radar homing missiles could sometimes be confused by surface objects or geographical features causing clutter guidance system of either the missile or ground station guiding it. Chaff is another option in the case that the aircraft is too high up to use geographical obstructions. Pilots have to be aware of the potential threats and learn to distinguish between the two where possible. They use the RWR (radar warning receiver) in order to discern the types of signals that are hitting their aircraft. The new AESA radar system, outfitted on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet can use its radar to actively detect inbound missiles.

G Force

When a fighter pilot is performing rapid turning movements in a dogfight or when avoiding missiles, pilots are exposed to high g forces. G forces are expressed as a multiple of the normal gravitational force, e.g. a force of 2G is equivalent to twice normal Earth gravity, meaning everything would feel twice as heavy. Modern fighter aircraft can make much sharper turns and sustain a lot more stresses or g-forces. With the advent of the jet engined aircraft these capabilities exceed that of the human body.

When executing a "positive G" maneuver like turning upwards the force pushes the pilot down. The most serious consequence of the this is that the blood in the pilot's body is also pulled down and into their extremities. If the forces are great enough and over a sufficient period of time this can lead to blackouts (called "g-induced Loss Of Consciousness" or G-LOC) , because not enough blood is reaching the pilot's brain. To counteract this effect pilots are trained to tense their legs, arms and abdominal muscles to restrict the "downward" flow of blood. This is known as the "grunt" or the "Hick maneuver", both names due to the sounds the pilot makes, and is the primary method of resisting G-LOCs. Modern flight suits, called g-suits, are worn by pilots to contract around the extremities exerting pressure, providing about 1G of extra tolerance.

See also

*Flying aces
*Fighter aircraft
*Military aviation
*Manfred von Richthofen (The "Red Baron")
*TOPGUN
*Operation Red Flag

External links

;Museums
* [http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/ New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum]