If you go back a couple of generations the aircraft were cheaper and lives also treated as such. I believe that in WWII the RAF lost more aircraft and aircrew during training than operations; and looking at the loss rate on early jets during the 50s and 60s the number of aircraft and pilots lost per Sqn per year makes you go white.
I presume as the price of aircraft rose and numbers shrank the reduced loss rate also indicates an increase in the selection and required standard of candidate. In other words your father was a steely eyed fighter man, but might not have had any more natural aptitude than yourself, or made the cut during selection today.