5 big differences between Navy and Air Force fighter pilots

[rangerrebew]

5 big differences between Navy and Air Force fighter pilots

    We Are The Mighty May 31, 2019, 8:28 AM

f35 pilots
Air Force F-35A Lightning II pilots on the flight line at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, September 26, 2014.US Air Force photo

    The Navy and the Air Force both have aircraft on the frontline of any fight.
    But how those pilots get there, and what they do once they're there, distinguish the two service branches.
    Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Both the Navy and Air Force fly jets, right?

So what's the difference between fighter pilots from the two branches of service?

https://amp.businessinsider.com/differences-between-navy-and-air-force-fighter-pilots-2018-3

[rangerrebew]

If you are around a base and you are unsure if it's Air Force or Navy, watch the landing.  Air Force pilots have a nice smooth approach, flair out nicely for the landing, and you don't see any smoke from the tires.  Navy pilots make an approach as if they are on a carrier and the landing is little more than a controlled crash.  Smoke billows from the tires because there is no such thing as a nice easy approach and landing on a carrier or anywhere else for Navy pilots.

[RetBobbyMI]

AF pilots ask after getting out of the cockpit, where’s the golf course or when’s tee time, whereas Navy pilots ask where’s the crapper.

[sneakypete]

As someone who has called in both for close air support in a combat situation,I can tell you the AF pilots are the ones you want  if the enemy is close enough to see the color of their eyes,and are calling in gun or bombing runs "danger close". Not because all AF pilots are better pilots than Navy pilots,but because AF pilots train for close-in air support (bombing and cannon runs) of troops on the ground,and Navy pilots training is primarily stationary targets like buildings or bunkers.

You take what you can get when you need it,though,and are happy to get it.

My personal preference was for the old A1E Skyraider prop fighter planes,though. They could fly slower than the jets,making them more likely to put the bombs and cannon fire where it needs to go,plus they carried a hell of a lot more ordinance than the fast movers.

 It was definitely "pucker" time when the pilot told you to keep your heads down because he was making a Napalm run,though,regardless of his branch of service.

Having said all that,I am not aware of even ONE single instance of the Navy pilots being call on for air support,and not coming as quickly as they could get there.

LOVED Cobra gunships most of all,but when you were in danger of being overran,your prime concern was to call out to whatever could get to you the fastest. EVERY other consideration came in a distant second.

[rangerrebew]

My personal preference was for the old A1E Skyraider prop fighter planes,though.  They could fly slower than the jets,making them more likely to put the bombs and cannon fire where it needs to go,plus they carried a hell of a lot more ordinance than the fast movers.
 

Slower also means more likely to be shot down.

[sneakypete]

Slower also means more likely to be shot down.

@rangerrebew

Not so sure of that. When a Skyraider was on a gun run and lining up to drop some napalm,nobody smart enough to be giving "retard status" was raising up and attracting attention to themselves by shooting at one of them.

The pilots didn't seem to be all that worried about it,either. I have looked up as they were passing over me,and seen them smile and wave. That's CLOSE air support.

Truth to tell,I think the zoomies were envious of the guys flying the Korean War era fighter-bombers. Those were the planes they wanted to fly when they were kids growing up.

Also,one of the reasons they were slow is because unlike modern jet fighters,they were designed for battlefield support via bomb and gun runs,as well as air battles. This meant they were armored much better than the modern jets because the designers knew they would be taking ground fire,and the jets were designed primarily for air battle with other jets that had very little armor because no amount of armor on a aircraft can take a missile hit or cannon fire.

The best thing about the jet fighter-bombers is that there were a LOT of them flying around,and if you sent out a distress call claiming you were in danger of being overran,generally speaking,it wouldn't be long before some jets showed up to help you keep the heathens at bay.

Providing it wasn't at night or during the monsoon season with heavy clouds and rain with zero visibility,that is. If it was,you were screwed. Night was a little easier if things got desperate because you could always tie a strobe light to your radio antenna and tell the air support to hose down everything within a 10 meter radius of the strobe light.

Exciting times.