Could Superman Be A Fighter Pilot?

"Today’s young people cannot be so limp, or can they?" – we could ask immediately, seeing the high rate of ineligible applicants. But this is not the case. Even a young member of the professional military, with a strong physique and perfect results on the general medical check-up can find easily that he or she does not meet the strict requirements set for fighter pilots.

Those applying for the NFTC training must pass a number of examinations and only the ones producing absolutely perfect results can move on to the next stage. In order to clarify our questions and doubts, we have visited the Kecskemét Aviation Hospital personally, where these strict examinations are performed, and tried to learn the most from the Head of the Aeromedical Fitness Testing Department, Head Physician Attila Pozsgai himself about how they select the few ’supermen’ who can later become professional fighter pilots.

“Today men and women alike can participate in the fighter pilot training, therefore we examine the representatives of both sexes. Yesterday there were three applicants, two women and a man. All three of them failed… Two of them did not pass the spinal cord examination and one fell out on the ophthalmology test" – told us the head of the department, who, with the above statement, has also revealed where requirements are the highest, and where do most people fail.

"The spinal cord examination is very strict, practically 80 percent of the applicants do not get further after the spinal cord X-ray. Only with absolutely perfect vertebrae and spine can someone become a pilot, since they will be subject to tremendous load on the fighter planes and this is why there cannot be any slight divergence, any kind of calcification, slight scoleosis… And the rest of the examinations are still ahead. Medically speaking, on average practically 15 out of 100 applicants are eligible to become fighter pilots. It is them we have to find" – said the head physician, who told us about the general expectations in the first place.

Female and male applicants have to meet the same criteria, there is no exemption for the weaker sex. Applicants must be at least 160 cm, but maximum 185 cm tall, for helicopter pilots the limit is 190 cm. Of course, weight matters too: nobody can weigh less than 57 kg or more than 89 kg. This is relevant because of the ejection seat, for the seat of a Gripen fighter aircraft can eject a pilot of maximum the above height and weight from the cockpit in case of emergency. Moreover, the applicant cannot suffer from any kind of allergy, and the eye test does not allow for the slightest divergence either. Perfect eyesight is another requirement. The examined person has to pass a full-scale laboratory examination, chest and spinal cord X-rays, abdominal ultrasound, dental and ophthalmologic examination, furthermore psychological and stress tests have to be carried out. The examinations take three days, therefore the hospital provides accomodation and catering for those who decide to choose a pilot’s life as their profession.

“Practically, we examine three large functional areas. In case of the first one, we check the cardiovascular system in the course of tests under load. The second one is psychological competence. The examination involves the personality, and the reflexes, reactions during psychic stress, or for instance even the mapping of short term memory. In the course of one of the examinations for example, the patient is pressed for time and his or her reactions are examined. In another case, the ability to stand monotony is tested. For example the applicant has to react to various signs for 10 minutes and cannot make a mistake. This is not as easy as it sounds. And there is also the third big examination, when we test hypoxia, that is the ability to tolerate the deficiency of oxygen in the baro-chamber. One of the tasks here for example is filling in tests or repeatedly write down the applicant’s own signature in an environment where the oxygen deficiency level is changing. The applicants have to be capable of tolerating the environment typical at an altitude of 5,500 m for instance for 15 minutes" – told us about the details of the examinations Attila Pozsgai, the department of whom examines approximately 160-180 applicants a year using the above methods.

Based on his personal experience, women can be just as eligible medically to become fighter pilots as men are, but due to the smaller number of female applicants it would be difficult to compare the ratios. Yet it is a fact that the weaker sex is much more capable of tolerating the lack of oxygen than men do, it is also true that their physique is obviously weaker – thus the tasks requiring physical power, stamina may mean a slightly larger strain for them.

Having learned about the abovementioned, it is no wonder at all that fighter pilot training can be mentioned among elite trainings, since it must not be forgotten that those few people who pass such a strict series of examinations taking several days will only be entitled to start the NFTC training, which demands ongoing testing for several years, continuous learning, and commitment. But the end of the road can be the unlimited blue sky, and a profession of a lifetime.