Originally Posted by
finestkind
Departing from all the humour I agree with bandaid.
It’s easy to be the ace in space when you’re flying the top bit of kit against a Sopwith camel. The time, the place and the operation all play a factor. Good pilots come from all areas.
Experience is gained from doing it, failures and success’. Knowledge is being smart/mature enough to use someone else’s experience to only have successes.
You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck
Truly superior pilots are those who use their superior judgment to avoid those situations where they might have to use their superior skills.
I would agree with that. I would also add that I have seen people do remarkable things with second rate kit and seen people do second-rate things with remarkable kit. I would second BandAide's comments on the IDF - it's hard to think of any combat organisation that has been so consistently competent for so long.
However, there IS more to it than just being a fighter jock. For example, the chaps who undertake CSAR or other special ops in relatively slow, relatively large, lightly armed (or even unarmed) aeroplanes/helos are deserving of special mention in my opinion (and NO, I wasn't ever one of them).