Ahead of the Aircraft

The English Electric Lightning fighter was a bit of a hot ship and only the best pilots were selected to fly it. The early versions of the aircraft did not come with a two seat trainer version, so a pilots first solo was also his first flight on type.

Following his his first solo one pilot, is quoted as saying that he was "ahead of the aircraft right up to brakes release".

A pilot who is not thinking ahead of the aircraft is merely reacting (or not, as the case may be) to events.

Last updated: 16 February 2015