Let’s go back in time and reminisce about the 80’s: when kids watched Top Gun and dreamed of becoming fighter pilots. Honestly, Tom Cruise looked so cool in his jumpsuit and aviators (he really did..)
A formation of F-14A Tomcats of Fighter Squadrons VF-51 Screaming Eagles and VF-111 Sundowners. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
My 16 year old Dad decided he too would become a fighter pilot because of that movie. He studied aeronautical engineering and entered fighter pilot school in the Philippines. Although, he never finished because he decided to marry my Mom (another love story on its own). Nowadays, he designs and repairs planes, but no longer flies.
It made me think… what does it take to become a fighter pilot? How does the Air Force decide who gets to fly a multibillion dollar jet armed with weapons capable of thermonuclear destruction?
In fact, I don’t know how my Dad passed selection! As a teenager, he loved getting into fights and craved reckless activities. Why would you put someone like that in a fighter jet? I don’t think someone like that should operate such an advanced piece of military hardware!
An F-16 Fighting Falcon flies a mission in the skies near Iraq.(U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby)
Military leaders and flight surgeons check for specific cognitive abilities that would help students with flying in a high-stress environment. Therefore, personality tests serve an essential role in assessing pilot candidates.
To my surprise, a study shows that many fighter pilots exhibit extraverted, conscientious and open-minded behaviour.
Yeah… that sounds exactly like my Dad, he can’t stop talking!
The researchers determined that this behaviour actually helps pilots with their challenging and high risk occupation.
Graph illustrates NEO-PI-R scores of USAF pilots vs. General population. Figure by Roj Lising. Data source: https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:180418/datastream/PDF/view
NEO-PI-R serves as a psychological test that identifies an individual’s Big Five personality traits (openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism). Data from the graph shows that fighter pilots when compared to the general public, display more extroverted, open-minded and conscientious (achievement striving) behaviour! However, fighter pilots exhibit less neurotic (anxious) and agreeable behaviour ( hard-headed).
In summary, fighter pilots get along with others, but still enjoy heated conversations (friendly, of course). They seek a thrilling, dangerous and fast-paced life (they fly jets that go faster than the speed of sound). They tolerate stress better than the general population (having a nervous breakdown shouldn’t happen) and have a high opinion of themselves (a must).
I guess my Dad really did embody a great candidate. His laid-back attitude would have certainly helped during tense moments (WARNING, missile lock!). His aggressiveness would have definitely given him an edge in dog fights (aerial battles between pilots).
Would my Mom let me become a fighter pilot?
Probably not.
