Menjadi pilot pesawat tempur dibutuhkan keberanian, komitmen dan semangat pantang menyerah. Pilot dituntut untuk mampu menerbangkan salah satu mesin militer paling kompleks di dunia. Tidak pernah berhenti belajar, selalu berusaha melampaui batas diri - baik secara fisik maupun mental.

Joshua S Bettis, Letnan Navy US, berkata, "Complete dedication is required outside the cockpit too. The choice to fly jets for the Navy is lifeconsuming. The jets are expensive and dangerous. So, when a pilot isn’t actually flying he is practising flying or studying. The current ratio of maintenance hours per flight hour also means that many sailors spend long days preparing jets to fly for short periods. In a training environment, if a slip-up doesn’t end in a mishap, it will affect a pilot’s grades. There is seemingly an inexhaustible supply of young officers that would jump at the opportunity to take his spot."

Pilot dilatih secara intens dan berkelanjutan. calon pilot berlatih dengan Cessna 172. Setelah memahami dasar-dasar penerbangan, pilot berlatih dengan Beechcraft T-34C Turbomentor atau McDonnell Douglas / Boeing T-45C.

Pelatihan berlangsung selama 3 tahun. Waktu dihabiskan dengan mempelajari teori di ruang kelas, menanggapi situasi darurat di ruang simulator dan membiasakan diri dengan G-force di ruang sentrifugal.

Josh Denning, Letnan Komandan, berkata, "The training we receive is everything from basic airmanship to air-to-ground munitions delivery and air-to-air combat. We also train to land on aircraft carriers and refuel in flight. Flying is hard work. It requires hours of preparation for each flight. A typical 1.5-hour flight would consist of approximately two hours of briefing before the flight, the flight itself, and then anywhere from one hour to many hours for a debrief of the event."

Pilot secara terus-menerus diingatkan bahwa keberhasilan misi tergantung pada mereka. Begitu mereka sudah mencapai jam terbang 1.600 kilometer, mereka harus siap beraksi kapanpun dibutuhkan.





Apa yang dipakai pilot, pakaian dan peralatan, disesuaikan dengan misinya.

Lieutenant Bettis menjelaskan, "A pilot wears a helmet and visor, a mask which is worn at all times with a radio incorporated, a flight suit made from aramid (Nomex) – a material that is not fireproof but will char instead of melt – gloves, steel-toed boots, a G-suit, harness and survival vest. Other types of equipment vary depending on your mission, whether it is peacetime training or combat."

Pakaian pilot melindungi pilot jika terjadi pesawat terbakar. Bettis menambahkan, "It’s like zip-up pyjamas with a few pockets. It’s pretty simple. The G-suit, on the other hand, is an expensive piece of gear that plugs into a receptacle in the cockpit." Semakin tinggi akselerasi, semakin tinggi G-force yang diterima pilot. G-force menyebabkan darah mengumpul di kepala atau kaki. Pilot dapat pingsan karenanya.

Dalam cuaca dingin, pilot menggunakan pakaian yang berfungsi seperti pakaian penyelam. Sarung tangan dari bahan Nomex. Keduanya mengisolasi panas tubuh, menjaga tubuh tetap hangat, dan juga tahan api.

Letnan Komandan Denning mengatakan, "We carry a large assortment of mostly survival gear on our vest. In case we ever have to eject." Dalam saku rompinnya berisi GPS, korek api tahan air, lampu bidal, cat kamuflase, tourniquet, dan banyak lagi.





Kokpit menjadi pusat komando pilot selama menjalankan misi. Begitu pentingnya kokpit, tidak mudah bagi pilot muda untuk memahami keseluruhan panel kontrol. Butuh waktu bertahun-tahun untuk dapat menjinakkannya.

Letnan Joshua Bettis mengatakan, "Pilots develop a cockpit scan over time, where each instrument is monitored at an appropriate interval. The scan varies depending on the pilot’s mission. Pilots also spend a significant amount of time in the books. They must know the proper use and limitations of every piece of gear on the jet."

Saat ini, pilot dituntut untuk mampu menjalankan barbagai misi. Letnan Komandan Josh Denning mengatakan, "Everything in the cockpit is as streamlined as possible for the pilot to operate the systems, their hands never leaving the controls. Before we even learn to fly airplanes we go through many hours of cockpit familiarisation, learning the systems and their respective controls in the cockpit."

Dalam sepersekian detik, pilot harus mengetahui situasinya, diburu atau berburu. Bettis melanjutkan, "Training depends on the complexity of the gear the pilot is learning. Ground school covers complex instrument function and theory, followed by simulators with seasoned instructor pilots. Next, the instruments are utilised in manoeuvres and tactics in the aircraft – normally in a ‘demo-do’ format, where the instructor demonstrates proper usage before the student makes an attempt."

Setidaknya ada minimal 20 sistem pada panel kontrol, setiap sistem mengatur sistem pertempuran yang berbeda. Termasuk diantaranya pengaturan bahan bakar, lingkungan dan suhu sekitar, sistem listrik, kontrol penerbangan, hidrolik, landing gear, autopilot, pencahayaan, komunikasi, navigasi, dan IFF (Identifi cation, Friend or Foe), senjata, dan radar.

Letnan Bettis menjelaskan, "As pilots progress in their careers and aircraft get more expensive to fly, the learning curve gets steeper. Students work through 20 or more flights in primary flight training just to be able to solo a T-34C. Conversely, a newly winged aviator that is transitioning into the Hornet is expected to solo on his third or fourth flight. Simulators are an excellent tool used to teach pilots and evaluate their performance in a low risk setting. They allow instructors to create emergency situations that otherwise wouldn’t be feasible, and adjust conditions such as weather to challenge a pilot that is working on instrument flight."







Pilot akan segera menyadari beratnya beban tanggung jawab dalam menerbangkan pesawat tempur. Letnan Bettis memperingatkan, "Inside the cockpit there can be no complacency. Even the greatest pilots are one mistake away from demonstrating their mortality."

Saat pilot berada dalam kokpit, dirinya akan menjadi bagian dari pesawat yang dirancang untuk kecepatan dan manuver. David Collette, mantan pilot F-16 Angkatan Udara AS mengatakan, "You literally strap the plane on to you. The plane is your life, but you are the brain."

Sungguh berbeda dengan pesawat komersial yang dirancang untuk stabilitas, perjalanan yang mulus dan kenyamanan penumpang. Pesawat tempur hanya berisi 1 orang, dan dia haruslah profesional, terlatih untuk menyelesaikan setiap misi.

Letnan Komandan Denning menjelaskan, "Flying a fighter is the most exhilarating feeling I have ever had. There is an absolute sense of freedom while flying, especially in a high performance airplane such as the Hornet. G-forces feel as if you have weight pressing down on every part of your body. It takes a lot of practice to master the physiology of fighting the forces you experience in the cockpit to maintain consciousness and continue your mission. It is a very intense workout, and sweating out as much as fi ve pounds [2.3 kilograms] of body weight is not uncommon under our most physically stressful missions."





Secara naluri, pilot akan melakukan sesuatu jika keselamatannya terancam. Karena itu, dalam ruang simulator, pilot dibiasakan dengan berbagai situasi bencana serta penanganannya. Letnan Bettis berkomentar, "The simulators are run by former pilots with a breadth and depth of experience. However, nothing replaces seat time in the jet."

Selama di dalam pesawat, pilot harus terus-menerus waspada. Menerbangkan pesawat adalah kegiatan yang berisiko. Tidak hanya kehidupan pilot itu sendiri, tapi juga nasib pesawat yang bernilai jutaan.

Letnan Komandan Denning mengatakan, "Flying an airplane like the Hornet demands 100 per cent of your focus and situational awareness for 100 per cent of the time. Flying is terribly unforgiving for any carelessness, incapacity or neglect. There are systems in the airplane that alert us to several different types of emergencies, but most importantly it’s the focus you must maintain that keeps a pilot safe."

Kesadaran untuk selalu mengikuti prosedur setidaknya membantu menjamin keselamatan pilot. Mulai dari pemilihan pakaian hingga tes uji terbang. Mulai lepas landas hingga mendarat.