There aren't any that I can find..zero....honestly there has to be a few younger Russian naval aviators..somewhere!. Those men with the protruding waist lines can't fly forever.
CV-16 Liaoning (001 carrier) Thread II ...News, Views and operations
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There aren't any that I can find..zero....honestly there has to be a few younger Russian naval aviators..somewhere!. Those men with the protruding waist lines can't fly forever.
Blackstone
Brigadier
Doesn't the Russian military have physical fitness standards for its pilots? I don't remember ever seeing similar pictures from the US or PRC pilots.
Equation
Lieutenant General
I think it's the thick orange winter g-suit that they are wearing makes them appear a bit chubby?
That's because Russians don't need them. And Russian standards aren't being fit but rather drink half a litre of vodka and end the party at 3 AM, then go to work for 9 AM. I bet those fit American pilots leaving healthy lives wouldn't stand for too long in this warlike standards and that makes Russians so strong. I'm sure those guys are pretty amazing in their work and it's damn cool to be around as you can learn a ton from them rather than constant rat race image created by films like Top Gun etc. There's not much difference in ability but there aren't youngsters who would like to take the role as there's no future in Russian aircraft carriers. Can you blame them for that? Well, I can't. They're all different in upbringing but they're the same human beings after all.
That's the difference between Americans and Russians. It was always there and will be.
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vesicles
Colonel
A major part of why you want to live a healthy life is because yo will be more physically fit and can last longer in harsh times.
Someone who drinks until 3 in the morning and sports a 60" belly will physically break down much much earlier than a physically fit person. Most likely, his blood pressure will go through the roof and he will have a heart attack.
I actually question these pilots' ability to sustain high G's. With the size of their bellies, their blood pressure must be borderline hypertension as it is on the ground. they might have an aneurysm at 4-5 G... it boggles my mind how they can stay alive in the cockpit in an actual dogfight...
Living a hard life also means they put so much pressure on their internal organs. When things go south, these organs, which have been bearly working during peace time, simply can't take any extra work and will break down easily.
I thought this should be common sense...
Additionally, it also shows discipline. If you can't even keep your own body fit, what does that say about your training?
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My reasoning against the need to be fit in the military.
In a no hold barred full blown war situation
a pilot's life expectancy can be measured in days
navy personnel serving on a fleet escort frigate during an engagement, life expectancy would be measured in hours. ( This was told to me by an old nnavy friend of mine who was a boilerman on the frigates)
and why do army guys have to do all that running for? You can't outrun a bullet.
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vesicles
Colonel
Yes, the life expectancy of a soldier/sailor/pilot will be short during a major conflict. We still have plenty people who manage to survive the ordeal. As a living being, you still want to try your best to stay alive as long as you can. You don't simply give up because the odds are against you. And being fit might just give you that slim chance to live to tell the tale.
And being fit means you move faster and think faster, because of your healthy muscle, healthy blood vessel, plenty oxygen being sent to your brain. These things allow you to make split second decisions that might just be good enough to minimize the chance if you becoming a target. Fighting does not simply mean pulling triggers as hard as you can. It involves a lot of brain work to know how to fight and how to survive.
This becomes especially important for naval personnel. No matter how gigantic a ship is, it's always very cramped on a ship. In any emergency such as abandoning ship, a fit person would have no problem climbing up and down stairs and squeezing between tight spaces and get off a ship. On the other hand, a 250 Ibs guy with a 60" belly would be stuck somewhere and go down with the ship. And at that time, no one will come and help you off the couch. And it's the little things that might give you that one in a million chance to get out of this thing unscathed.
And fighter pilots are doing a job that is physically and mentally extremely challenging. In order to do a job, you need to be in top physical and mental state. A 300 Ibs guy huffing and puffing while holding the joystick is not going to win any dogfight, period.
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You can google and find some:
100-й корабельный истребительный авиационный полк
279-й отдельный корабельный истребительный авиационный полк
plawolf
Lieutenant General
Actually, paradoxically, high blood pressure might actually be beneficial for fighter pilots.
Most hard manoeuvres fighters pull are positive-G, which means blood drains from the brain into the legs. So high blood pressure means that blood drains slower, giving the pilot a precious few more seconds/ degrees before they start greying out from lack of oxygen to the brain.
High blood pressure would be very bad for negative-g manoeuvres where blood pools in the head. And that is where they might have a higher risk of burst blood vessels in the brain and eyes (which is why it is called red-out).
So maybe the trick to fighting Russians is to favour negative-g manoeuvres
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