A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage other aircraft and typically pilots a fighter aircraft. Military aviation is the use of Aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare including national airlift ( Cargo) capacity A fighter aircraft is a Military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other Aircraft, as opposed to a Bomber, which is designed Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting (close range aerial combat). Air power redirects here for electrical and mechanical energy supplied by air movement see Wind power A dogfight or dog fight is Aerial combat between Fighter aircraft.

Notable fighter pilots include Oswald Boelcke, Jason Schaub, Manfred von Richtofen, Chris Bernardo, Eddie Rickenbacker, Eric Swenson, Max Immelmann, Chris Finkenstadt, Douglas Bader, Matthew Hoyt, Sailor Malan, Duke Cunningham, Klaton Ives and Robin Olds. Oswald Boelcke (ˈbœlkə 19 May, 1891 &ndash 28 October, 1916) was a German Flying ace of the First World WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (October 8 1890 &ndash July 27 1973 was an American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient } Max Immelmann ( September 21, 1890 – June 18, 1916) was a German World War I Flying ace. Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, DL, RAF (21 February 1910 Adolph Gysbert Malan DSO & Bar DFC (24 March 1910 – 17 September 1963 better known as Sailor Malan, was a famed World War II RAF Randall Harold Cunningham (born December 8, 1941) usually known as Randy or Duke, was a Republican member of the United Robin Olds (July 14 1922 – June 14 2007 was an American Fighter pilot and general officer in the U

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. Active radar homing is a Missile guidance method in which a Guided missile contains a Radar Transceiver and the electronics necessary for it Semi-active radar homing, or SARH, is a common type of Missile guidance system perhaps the most common type for longer range air-to-air and Surface-to-air A Beyond Visual Range Missile usually refers to an Air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges beyond 20 Nautical However, when a pilot is dogfighting at short-range, his position relative to the opponent is decidedly important. Dog fighting is a Fight between game Dogs This Blood sport is utilized for Entertainment and may also create a revenue stream 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. Aerobatics is the demonstration of flying maneuvers for Training, Recreation or Entertainment. The Split S is an air combat maneuver mostly used to disengage from combat The Immelmann turn refers to two quite different Aircraft maneuvers The Thach Weave was an Aerial combat tactic developed by naval aviator John S The Scissors is an Aerial Dog fighting Maneuver, commonly used by military fighter pilots before the advent of high thrust-to-weight fighters (which The chandelle is an aircraft control maneuver where the pilot combines a turn with a climb in a certain way The Pugachev's Cobra (or Pugachev Cobra) is an Aircraft cobra maneuver The Herbst maneuver (also known as a J-Turn) is an air combat maneuver which uses Post-stall technology such as Thrust vectoring and advanced Attacks from missiles are usually countered with electronic countermeasures and chaff. Electronic Countermeasures ( ECM') are a subsection of Electronic warfare which includes any sort of electrical or electronic device designed to trick Chaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the World War II era German Luftwaffe, is a Missiles like the AIM-120 AMRAAM, however, can actively home in on jamming signals. The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced am-ram is a modern Beyond Visual Range (BVR air-to-air Missile

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. g-force (also G-force, g-load) is a measurement of an object's Acceleration expressed in g s 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. Infrared homing refers to a passive missile guidance system which uses the emission from a target of Electromagnetic radiation in the Infrared 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. The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range Air-to-air missile carried by Fighter aircraft and recently certain gunship helicopters 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. The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range Air-to-air missile carried by Fighter aircraft and recently certain gunship helicopters

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. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

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-force (also G-force, g-load) is a measurement of an object's Acceleration expressed in g s G forces are expressed as a multiple of the normal gravitational force, i. e. a force of 2G is equivalent to twice normal Earth gravity, e. g. 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. G-LOC, abbreviated from G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness, is a term generally used in Aerospace physiology to describe a loss of consciousness arising from 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 manuever", 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. A g -suit is worn by Aviators and Astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration (' ''g'' '

See also

• Fighter aircraft
• Military aviation
• James White (fighter pilot)
• Manfred von Richthofen (The red Baron)
• Stitch Jindrich
• TOPGUN
• Operation Red Flag

External links

Museums

• New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum