Best Pilot?
Moderator: Vympel
Best Pilot?
In the arena of just pure piloting skills and using the movies and EU as sources who do you think is the better pilot from this list of notables.
Anakin Skywalker (all versions)
Luke Skywalker
Han Solo
Wedge Antilles
Feel Free to add someone else but I think these are the big ones that span the majority of movies noted for their skill.
Anakin Skywalker (all versions)
Luke Skywalker
Han Solo
Wedge Antilles
Feel Free to add someone else but I think these are the big ones that span the majority of movies noted for their skill.
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Wedge Antilles, survied two Death-Star runs as a minor charater. Tons of experence with loads of odd-ball missions and an impressive kill record.
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I give it to Solo
Wedge has the ability of surviving many exploits and has really the longest term, but he's an exceptional pilot, but he's using a craft suited for these adventures, while Han is more doing things with a craft that is a handicap on it's own.
Wedge has the ability of surviving many exploits and has really the longest term, but he's an exceptional pilot, but he's using a craft suited for these adventures, while Han is more doing things with a craft that is a handicap on it's own.
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With force powers included, I'd give it to Anakin Skywalker. You've got to be insanely skilled to fly an unshielded fighter through a conflict like the Battle of Coruscant. Besides, Precog always helps.
Barring that, Wedge.
Barring that, Wedge.
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If you allow Force powers into the mix, Anakin.
If not, Wedge.
If not, Wedge.
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This one I have to give to Wedge. That has to be one heck of a pilot in order to keep up with and sometimes outfly Luke Skywalker.
Though Han can pull pretty good tricks with his flying brick.
Though Han can pull pretty good tricks with his flying brick.
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Actually
No one - StrategyPage.com had an article called Why You Can’t Tell Who Was The Best Fighter Pilot Ever.
A handicap isn't indicative because we don't know how such pilots would have performed without it, and vice versa. Soontir Fel did eight years in TIEs, six years in combat, yet he never went up against Anakin, Luke or Han -- and Wedge is questionable, since Wedge didn't "vape" him. (It is entirely possible that he allowed himself to be captured, it is entirely possible that he didn't and that he finally got unlucky enough to get disabled by a Y-Wing of all slovenly machines.) It's eight years in unshielded tin cans, but how do you compare?
And on NJO, I disagree -- the only core characters to die are Chewbacca and Anakin Solo. (Ackbar and Mothma don't count.)
I prefer my shielded characters a lot easier to beat up.
Due to the intent of the thread, I'm adding Maarek Stele (Star Wars: TIE Fighter) to the mix. He's not famous, but he's an Emperor's Hand.
A handicap isn't indicative because we don't know how such pilots would have performed without it, and vice versa. Soontir Fel did eight years in TIEs, six years in combat, yet he never went up against Anakin, Luke or Han -- and Wedge is questionable, since Wedge didn't "vape" him. (It is entirely possible that he allowed himself to be captured, it is entirely possible that he didn't and that he finally got unlucky enough to get disabled by a Y-Wing of all slovenly machines.) It's eight years in unshielded tin cans, but how do you compare?
And on NJO, I disagree -- the only core characters to die are Chewbacca and Anakin Solo. (Ackbar and Mothma don't count.)
I prefer my shielded characters a lot easier to beat up.
Due to the intent of the thread, I'm adding Maarek Stele (Star Wars: TIE Fighter) to the mix. He's not famous, but he's an Emperor's Hand.
Long before the PT ever came out I was always gunning for Wedge as being the better pilot, especailly against Luke, regardless of force powers. Luke took damage twice in the battle of Yavin, and Wedge was hit only once. He crashed twice in Empire. Wedge took out an ATAT. Luke DIDN'T crash in ROTJ, but then he didn't really have a chance to. Wedge blew up the second Death Star.
And those are just the things from the movies. Yeah, I've always thought Wedge was clearly a step ahead of Luke. At the very least, he's equal to Luke WITHOUT the Force. Raw talent like that means he's just damn good.
Anakin would probably win a fight between he and Wedge (Wedge was shot by him once, after all, though he was forced to stay back there and cover, not manuevering), but we'll never really know. So I'll stick with Wedge.
And those are just the things from the movies. Yeah, I've always thought Wedge was clearly a step ahead of Luke. At the very least, he's equal to Luke WITHOUT the Force. Raw talent like that means he's just damn good.
Anakin would probably win a fight between he and Wedge (Wedge was shot by him once, after all, though he was forced to stay back there and cover, not manuevering), but we'll never really know. So I'll stick with Wedge.
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Luke himself stated Wedge was the better pilot. Even accounting force abilities, Wedge is the better pilot. Why? Because Wedge is a fighter pilot. Luke is a Jedi Knight. He doesn't get a chance to train and fly like he once did. Wedge is constantly honing in and keeping his edge as sharp as it can be. Luke is not. Thats the primary difference and Luke even said that (in not so many words).
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Agreed, but in the poll where Anakin Skywalker is an option, he clearly beats the crap out of wedge. The Force is fun.Alyeska wrote:Luke himself stated Wedge was the better pilot. Even accounting force abilities, Wedge is the better pilot. Why? Because Wedge is a fighter pilot. Luke is a Jedi Knight. He doesn't get a chance to train and fly like he once did. Wedge is constantly honing in and keeping his edge as sharp as it can be. Luke is not. Thats the primary difference and Luke even said that (in not so many words).
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Did you just hear about that? It happened six years ago.Dakarne wrote:They killed off Chewie... that's a Cardinal Sin!
For those people saying that the Falcon is some sort of major handicap for Han, I'd like to point out that it has much heavier shields than a starfighter, plus crewed weapons and damage control, which are big advantages in a fight.
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I don't see how Anakin could have been a better pilot. He hardly had a chance to be involved in fighting to gain the decades of experience that someone like Wedge had.
"If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If neither is on your side, pound on the table."
"The captain claimed our people violated a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding us to develop hyperspace technology. Extermination of our planet was the consequence. The subject did not survive interrogation."
"The captain claimed our people violated a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding us to develop hyperspace technology. Extermination of our planet was the consequence. The subject did not survive interrogation."
Even so, he did have Jedi abilities and precog. Even if Wedge was a better pilot in terms of raw ability, Anakin's Force control and the fact that he was a decent pilot probably put his on top, at least in my view. After all, he did have a lot of wartime experience, if not as much as Wedge.Alyeska wrote:I don't see how Anakin could have been a better pilot. He hardly had a chance to be involved in fighting to gain the decades of experience that someone like Wedge had.
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Hugh Thompson Jr.- A True American Hero
"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." - President Barack Obama
"May fortune favor you, for your goals are the goals of the world." - Ancient Chall valediction
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I think Wedge if only based on sheer piloting ability wins.
Though, one thing that's always stuck in my mind is, when Han Solo saves Lukes ass in ANH you see the MF coming with Yavin's sun behind him. That has struck me as a very combat saavy move, what with the DS jamming sensors and pilots needing to rely on just their eyes to identify threats, and considering the size of the MF anything that makes it difficult for your opponent to spot you is a good thing. Plus, that scene explains how Han was able to toast that TIE before anyone could stop him.
Though, one thing that's always stuck in my mind is, when Han Solo saves Lukes ass in ANH you see the MF coming with Yavin's sun behind him. That has struck me as a very combat saavy move, what with the DS jamming sensors and pilots needing to rely on just their eyes to identify threats, and considering the size of the MF anything that makes it difficult for your opponent to spot you is a good thing. Plus, that scene explains how Han was able to toast that TIE before anyone could stop him.
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