"Gentlemen, you are the top 1 percent of all naval aviators. The elite. The best of the best. We’ll make you better … You might say we’ll make you the best of the best of the best. Those of you who can’t cut it to graduation will still be the best of the best. But you will simply be the rest of the best of the best, not the best of the best of the best, like the best of you will be."
-TOM SKERRITT’S SPEECH TO THE CADETS IN TOP GUN
We are a country or let's be broad based and say, a World ,full of people. People of various ethnicities,diversities,culture. People of every type of personality, of every type of mentality.Here on the ground,we categorise,unite,divide and submerge ourselves into the task of being from a different caste,creed or country.But Up there,in the air,the World is divided into just two- Bastards and Suckers.
You can either be so damn good at what you do,so cocky with your moves and so convinced with your target that you touch the sky with glory.Or You can suck at it,blame it on not being born with pilot instincts,bad winds,mood swings and be a speck of dirt in the air.Make your choice.
To be a pilot isn't a piece of cake,lest you thought so.A few lucky chaps land the opportunity.Oh,did I say opportunity?The opportunity soon turns to immunity.Immunity towards rigorous training.Immunity towards tough routines and hectic schedules.Immunity towards rough terrains,rainy days,cold food,lack of sleep,morning,noon,night or a slap given tight.The ethics of training,the honourable code of conduct and the need for being the best seeps into their veins.An aircraft may disappoint a good pilot, but it won't surprise him. Every course has someone who runs away,someone who has to discontinue,some kicked out and some malevolent.But then there are those who survive it all and them,they unite.Together,they Aviate.
So you lived your whole life at one place,one house,stable friends,one school and damn you,have you seen the world?Lets see,a pilot has and a pilot will.He can find his way through blurry screens,heavy rains,darkness,cloudy days, in the middle of nowhere.That too,up in the sky,where roads with white lines don't show you the way.He is accustomed to packing his bag within minutes,move to new places,find his hangouts,start all over again ,tying up loose ends and basically,doing so much more that it would send your thoughts into a whirlpool.That is how well they learn to Navigate their way in life.
Their immunity towards every hardship is zilch when it comes to things/people that matter.You think you are homesick in college?Ask them what it's like to stay away from home and family for months or even years at a stretch.They will pick hobbies to keep themselves occupied,their archaic romance is just a way of making you feel what they cannot say,their way of having fun will be way different from the hideous clubbing and "hanging out" you do.They ooze oodles of charm,sophistication and surity of their actions.And a small,mean side to them.Well,since they practically stay cut off from civilisation,that's acceptable.We all love bad boys,don't we? ;) They have their own private jokes and aviation stories.Their grins and enthusiasm when they talk about their sorties,their frustration at their mistakes and their burning desire to be better the next time.And When they talk to you?They will talk in NATO phonetics and make you feel like a dufus scumbag.Then they will smile and charm you into their world in the drop of a hat.That is how they Communicate.
Aviate,Navigate,Communicate. That is what a pilot does.That is what he does best.Life of a pilot isn't all bright and shiny and winsome as it seems.On the contrary,it is dark and windy with a mind that can never sleep.Yet,they find their way around it
Its him,the darn pilot,who choses what he wants to be. A Bastard,so ferociously dedicated,smart and quick with his actions. Or a sucker.I would not even elaborate on the latter.And You? Oh come on, you are a darn civilian who walks on the ground and cannot even differentiate a high tea from a rum punch.
Helicopters don't fly,they beat the air into submission.And Helicopter pilots?Well,they make the magic happen.
So go on.Fight on and fly on to the last drop of blood and the last drop of fuel, to the last beat of the heart.
