How to Become a NATO Fighter Pilot — Interview with DNK Lt Col Martin ‘AMI’ Friis

Among pilots, we would say that speed is life.

And obviously we travel at great speeds up to two times the speed of sound I've flown, both high and low.

And that means when you're training to be a pilot, you need to be ahead of the aircraft.

you need to think ahead because you think it's happening very fast.

And often inexperienced pilots, as we say, they will leave their brain down on the runway, even though they have flown for 10 minutes.

Just kind of a saying.

That means that you need to anticipate And at the same time, you have to talk, you have to look at your instruments, at your radio, you need to talk to your other flight members.

That's where, you mentioned it earlier, doing things simultaneously really comes into play.

Some people, and I've also seen stressed young pilots or people that never made it to a pilot, the way the brain works for some people is if they are thinking, like doing math, then they can not do something with their hands at the same time.

And that's where we need the balance if you're a fighter pilot.

You need to both thinking and flying at the same time.

That's why we do so much of actually making flying a natural part.

So you just do it because you're really good at it, but you've done it for a long time.

So that leaves, so to speak, space in your head to actually do the...

So it just becomes

unconscious.

Yeah, exactly.

You can do it.

In your

sleep.

Yeah.

And actually, what I experienced when I got fairly experienced in the 16 was that instead of I went to the aircraft and I sat down in the seat and put on my harness, I strapped myself into the aircraft, I kind of felt that the opposite.

I was strapping the aircraft on my back.

Oh,

wow.

Among pilots, we would say that speed is life.

And obviously we travel at great speeds up to two times the speed of sound I've flown, both high and low.

And that means when you're training to be a pilot, you need to be ahead of the aircraft.

you need to think ahead because you think it's happening very fast.

And often inexperienced pilots, as we say, they will leave their brain down on the runway, even though they have flown for 10 minutes.

Just kind of a saying.

That means that you need to anticipate And at the same time, you have to talk, you have to look at your instruments, at your radio, you need to talk to your other flight members.

That's where, you mentioned it earlier, doing things simultaneously really comes into play.

Some people, and I've also seen stressed young pilots or people that never made it to a pilot, the way the brain works for some people is if they are thinking, like doing math, then they can not do something with their hands at the same time.

And that's where we need the balance if you're a fighter pilot.

You need to both thinking and flying at the same time.

That's why we do so much of actually making flying a natural part.

So you just do it because you're really good at it, but you've done it for a long time.

So that leaves, so to speak, space in your head to actually do the...

So it just becomes

unconscious.

Yeah, exactly.

You can do it.

In your

sleep.

Yeah.

And actually, what I experienced when I got fairly experienced in the 16 was that instead of I went to the aircraft and I sat down in the seat and put on my harness, I strapped myself into the aircraft, I kind of felt that the opposite.

I was strapping the aircraft on my back.

Oh,

wow.