It looks exhilarating in the movie “Top Gun,” but flying a fighter jet could be one of the worst things you’ll ever experience.
You’ll soar through the sky faster than the speed of sound. You’ll feel immense pressure on every part of your body, and all the blood will drain from your brain.
But if Tom Cruise can do it, so can you. Right?
Like Maverick and Goose, if you want to become a fighter jet pilot, you’ll need to graduate as a naval aviator first, then get sent to the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School, nicknamed TOP GUN. But this is not a regular training course. At the beginning of the Vietnam war, Navy aviators didn’t get the best results. The Navy set up training that required fighter pilots and their wingmen to train to withstand enormous amounts of pressure that can be several times stronger than the force of gravity.
So, if you want to become Iceman or his wingman and hit the skies, here’s what you need to do. How can you avoid passing out? Why is it so important to pick the right suit? And how could flexing your muscles save your life?
With the upcoming release of the movie “Top Gun: Maverick,” you might think about becoming a military fighter pilot. But what would you experience? Fighter jets can travel roughly 1,960 km/h (1,218 mph), which is more than double the speed of sound. Between 1993 and 2009, the death rate in F-16s was 1.32 per 100,000 hours. One pilot died per 100,000 hours of flying.
Step 1: Get in Touch with Gravity
When flying at such extreme speeds, military pilots must endure forces stronger than gravity. To prepare for this pressure, trainees go into a centrifuge chamber at the end of a long arm. Pilot Jack Stewart says being in the chamber and spinning around the room “feels like the weight is pushing on every part of you”. When you are in a centrifuge, the forces the spinning generates are the same as those you’d feel during military maneuvers and takeoffs.
The amount of pressure that makes you lose consciousness is usually called g-loc. Usually, it happens when your blood begins to pool away from your brain and into your legs or abdomen. How much force can you take? The g-loc varies among individuals.
Step 2: Find a Good Fit
To help you stay conscious, it’s essential your g-suit fits well. It should squeeze your legs tightly to help keep your blood in your brain instead of pooling in your legs and abdomen. Recent g-suits are said to provide additional protection of 2.4 g and reduce g-related fatigue by 50%. The fit of your suit could make the difference between passing out and staying conscious.
Just 5 to 10 seconds of reduced or diminished blood flow to your brain could make you lose consciousness.
Step 3: Stay Tense
Yes, we often tell you to stay calm in our videos. But tensing your body helps if you’re a fighter pilot. As a trainee, you’d learn to use isometric contractions and flex the muscles in your thighs, calves or shoulders. It will help stop blood from pooling away from your brain. That will help increase your chances of staying conscious.
Step 4: Use the Hook
Keeping your helmet and mask on is crucial since the mask connects to a system that gives you oxygen when needed at higher altitudes. But if you start feeling light-headed up there, you can use the now-declassified “Hook Maneuver”. Inhale and begin saying the word hook, which will help you feel the glottis in your throat. Before pronouncing the “k,” close your glottis for about 3 seconds. Exhale strongly, and finish saying the word hook. Then inhale. This will give your blood time to travel into your chest and heart, and it’s fast enough to prevent blood from leaving your brain. Keep repeating this until you’re back down where pressure is lower.
Step 5: Push the Eject Button
No one wants to destroy a $67 million F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet. But you may need to. In 2004, an F-22 pilot safely ejected during a training mission over the Nevada Desert. The pilot had no injuries and was recovered. Ejecting from a fighter jet is very risky and often considered a last choice. To eject, you’ll pull one or two levers beside your seat. Within seconds, the aircraft canopy will open and a rocket under your pilot seat will send you “up and out of the cockpit” with enormous force.
It could injure or kill you. The harness straps could bruise your shoulders or break your collarbones.
The good news is, your parachute opens automatically for you. In October 2021, a Navy F18 Super Hornet pilot ejected before his jet crashed in Death Valley. Fortunately, he only had minor injuries. If you decide to become a fighter pilot, we hope you never need to use a parachute. And if you do need to use a parachute, we hope it works properly. But if you pull your cord and nothing happens, don’t worry. We’ve got just the video for you here on How to Survive.
