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Marines don't fly Apaches, the Army does, so Marine age data is completely irrelevant. Helicopter pilots in general trend older than ground grunts, due to trai
by waterlesscloud 17y ago
Marines don't fly Apaches, the Army does, so Marine age data is completely irrelevant.
Helicopter pilots in general trend older than ground grunts, due to training requirements and so on. And many of the Apache pilots in Iraq were/are reservists, so they trend older as well.
The first female Apache pilot already had 20 years of service when she was assigned to an Apache. The oldest British Apache pilot is 54.
It's not something some kid does right out of highschool. There are no teenagers flying Apaches.
I don't know, which is why I said "a good chance", but my estimate would be that the average Apache pilot is in their 30s.
- tsally 17y agoIs the pilot also the gunner? Because I would think the person that pulled the trigger would be the one we should talk about. When I said kid, I was talking about the gunner. It's the gunner's decision making we are evaluating, after all. I don't think the age of the pilot matters as far as this video is concerned. In fact, your points about the age of helicopter pilots reinforces my point. Maturity is required for positions of great responsibility.
- foldr 17y agoThe Apache has a pilot and an observer/gunner. Both positions are pretty highly skilled -- the observer has to know how to use all the targeting electronics, etc. You would have to be crazy to spend God-knows-how-much on an Apache and then put a 19-year-old in the back seat.
- tsally 17y agoOk, fair enough. I appreciate the corrections.
- rosser 17y agoI may be mistaken, but I believe both crew of an Apache are typically at least E-7, so, at a guess, 25-30-ish at the low end.