(ArtKramr) wrote:

There has been number of comments on how much more complicated things are now
as compared to WW II. But I dont k now about that. When I talk to guys at
Nellis about navigation and bombing it all seems electronic and automatic now.
It was far from that back then. You had to understand evrything and work
through problems with laborious pencil and paper procedures and an error could
spell disaster. Seems a lot simpler now than it was back then. Take GPS as one
of many cases in point.

GPS navigation is wonderful, but we are just now beginning to realize
the many downsides of GPS such as tunnel vision, degraded situational
awareness, increased airspace incursions, more heads-down flying,
more buttons and more confusion.

The point is Art, whether you like it or not, things are much MUCH
more complicated now for pilots (in both the civilian and military
arenas) as compared to WW2.

We still require the same keen eyes, quick reactions and good hands,
but we're also tasked with complex tasks (esp. in this post 9/11 era)
that you aren't even aware of.

You're choosing to focus on aspects that YOU happen to be familiar
with (e.g: navigation and bombing) but pilots have to know a lot more
"stuff" than just how to navigate and drop bombs.

-Mike Marron