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Air Warriors
Air Warriors tells the story of Navy pilots training for their job. It is a paperback book of almost 500 pages. This story covers the training that naval aviators must master to become Navy pilots. The author developed much of the information from first hand experience, both through interviews and by actually riding along in the rear seat of several airplanes. He includes a wealth of photographs taken during his research into this subject including training simulators, shipboard photographs, and aerial shots.
Extensive time is given to the short period from when the pilots step into their first aircraft with an instructor until they solo. The author gives us deep personal glimpses into how the trainees feel and the background motivations that keep them going. He also shows us the added difficulties faced by women training for this dangerous occupation. He describes each trainee's feelings as they get to take the stick for the first time and some of the mistakes they make along the way. The book also covers some of the more advanced training issues including jet aircraft training, bombing practice, dogfighting, and carrier landings. He describes the difficulties the students have with juggling a number of technical factors to be successful in these areas while flying an aircraft at over 400 miles per hour. We also see the impact of this stage of training on the students' personal lives. I found this book rather refreshing. Having personal experience with naval aviation, I found the descriptions to be completely accurate including the organization of the training outfits and the special "buzz words" the pilots use to describe their environment. The author succeeds in presenting a no-nonsense picture of the difficult process of qualifying to be a pilot in today's Navy. This book should be read by anybody wishing to have a future as a military pilot since it gives an accurate picture of what they can expect.
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