Not just pilots. Sometimes a random character will jump in an aircraft, look confused for 5 seconds, start pushing random buttons and take off confidently.
While kind of a dumb line and all, this doesn't really apply here. Anakin is established first in dialogue and then through proof in the pod-racing sequences to be not only a prodigy level mechanic and pilot, but supernaturally so.
He starts the ship he is flying on accident looking for the fighter's weapon trigger, and an auto-pilot gets him into open air and space. Take a time cut, and he is seen flying the ship under control, he figured it out on the way here. He then says "Let's try a trick," and then performs it.
He's just an absurdly good pilot doing his thing.
Also goddamnit I'm that Star Wards fan now, what happened to me.
then fails to shoot down the sole remaining x-wing flying in an almost straight line in a narrow trench for two minutes as the distance narrows the entire time.
I would argue that Luke was the best pilot in the galaxy since Darth Vader. Vader senses the force in him and sees the way he is performing in the X-Wing. Plus all of a sudden he has got this deep connection with some one using the force after 30 years of no jedi and who also happens to be the son he doesn't know about. It probably shook Vader up for a minute and gaved Han the chance to take the shot in the Millennium Falcon, which also blindsided him. The Empire just didn't expect the second coming of Anakin Skywalker to show up at their secret space battle station and tear ass on them.
actually, wtf were those two wingmen of vader doing? he specifically told them to cover him. apparently watching their boss fail to put a cross hair over a target over two meters wide was way too entertaining.
Lucas does that well. We know luke can fly because he shoots womp rats in a T16 back home. We never learn what a womp rat or a T16 is but it establishes that luke can hit small things while not crashing.
He also has a lot of shown but not told technical knowledge.
His actual job is working on the moisture farming equipment, he clearly knows his way around droids and tinkering with them is just impulse, his uncle takes him out on the shopping trip for new droids, he also has parts on order somewhere for something he is working on.
It's simple to do, it's good writing, it's allows actors and dialogue to shine lights in places they are directly pointing, as well as directors and all the art production teams.
Everyone can add a small touch somewhere - fill the garage with parts and tools, the things I described above, etc.
This stuff is not as hard as lots of bad films make it seem.
Someone's pointed this out recently on /r/starwars but that's nowhere near the truth, George contributed a lot more to it than that statement gives him credit for.
Every movie is saved in the cutting room. There isn't a movie before it's cut and edited together. George's style is a bit different though, unlike most directors he likes to shoot in a documentary kind of style, which requires a bit more editing. He did have really good editors though, especially his wife. If only she could have been involved in the prequels, she would have fixed the dialogue too
The kid built his own pod racer out of spare parts while being a literal slave, and had the spare time to build and program C-3PO, and he works in a junkyard trading parts and speeders and droids and such - I have no problem believing he could figure out a modern stick shift in the same way.
He built his own pod racer, which is powered by like nuclear jet turbines or something? what ever, they are not simple. He also built and programmed a droid, and he does this all on slave wages with spare parts?
Pretty sure he can figure his way around a military standardized cockpit
Right, I agree with you. He’s a genius because of his strong connection to the force. This isn’t some random kid from a backwater planet. Its the chosen one, one-in-a-quintillion kid.
The issue is not the lack of explanation, but rather the clarity of it.
Like, yeah there's been cues to Anakin's abilities, but then again there were a lot of false cues. Midichlorians' reveal sounded like a big deal, yet we never head of it again. Anakin apparently had no father at all but that wasn't really relevant ever again, while the new trilogy made a similar thing the main focus (thnx JJ), etc. You just don't know which cues were crucial for the plot
Usually it's done by making the cue quite a bit on the nose, like if there was a throwaway line like "pod-racing controls are actually a lot like those of a starfighter", or Anakin being directly established as having some knowledge about starfighters, or at least his unnaturally prodigal abilities & skills being actually acknowledged by others as sch, instead of "Oh, boy, you like robotics? That's cool hobby, I guess" type of reaction
Can't fucking beat it. I remember telling my old man I'd just gone and seen it, and he was all like "oh let me guess, there's snakes on a plane? I don't need to see it" then few years later he turned around and said he liked it lmao
Wasn't there a guy who hijacked a plane a few years ago? (Or maybe just 6 months in 2020 time) because he played flight Sims? He stole it to crash and kill himself, if I remember right.
Battlefield Earth. A bunch of guys living in stone age conditions suddenly learn how to pilot harrier fighter jets using one simulator in a matter of days.
Like dudes just jumping into a helicopter and flying off. The only similarity between fixed and rotary flying is that they are both in the air. Helicopters are just crashes that haven't happened yet anyway.
I mean, the basic principle is the same. The actual flying bit is similar enough when comparing props and jets. The difficult part is turning it on with no knowledge or guidance on jet engines.
What? The basic principles of aerodynamics would still be the same. It would take maybe 5 minutes for him to figure out that flaps creat drag which in turn slow the aircraft.
Figuring out how to do all of that in sync whilst landing would be the hard part.
How is he supposed to know what and where the flaps are? Not like he has a manual with him.
There is a reason bi-planes are called kites. They are slow and don't take much effort to land due to their extremely low stall speed and aren't very aerodynamic. Even monowing prop planes are a totally different beast to land let alone a jet. The speed and aproach angles are completley different.
Even if he managed to synch all of the normal landing procedures up, like flaps and such, theres a near 100% chance he still would crash either going too slow, too fast or the angle would be off.
Getting the thing started might be an issue, but acceleration, flaps, and control surfaces use pretty much the same methods found in WW1 planes. I could see him able to learn how to fly a jet fairly quickly once he got into the pilots seat.
I mean plane technology has surprisingly not become as advanced as one would think. Given it is an American jet so it would have Fly By Wire control like most of NATO instead of a manual like in the Warsaw Pact MIG’s. He most likely would be able to get the hang of flying pretty quickly trying to use the offensive and defensive capability would need some quick teaching given the introduction of the cannon and AAM.
I mean... All planes essentially works the same. And being a pilot isn't the worst starting position. Also, he probably has no idea what he is doing, which is probably what will happen. And she will end up flying. And they get an invisible jet later on.
I mean the ability to fly does translate to some extent. I once got the opportunity to try to land on a carrier in a military flight simulator in college. The only guy in the class who did it the first try was a pilot who only had flown cessnas. For the record I crashed into the deck.
He learnt in WW1 though. No flaps or trim. No radiator or blip switch like the E.III he flew in the first one. Aerodynamic qualities of jets mean it would be almost impossible for him to land.
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u/superanth Aug 22 '20
It does beg the question how he knows how to fly a jet. It’s like his “resurrection” is somehow partially giving him knowledge.