Navy training harder than the Air Force? These naval pilots 'absolutely' think so

These servicemen might be from the Navy, but their job description extends beyond just going out to sea.

In an interview with AsiaOne at the recent Top Gun: Maverick premiere, Commander Jason Butler and Lieutenant Michael Fortunati shared that as US naval aviators, they are also trained to fly planes.

Earning his wings as a naval flight officer 22 years ago, Jason is the Director of Operations for the Military Sealift Command Far East, which provides logistics support for the US Navy.

Meanwhile, Michael is an Air Operations Officer for the Destroyer Squadron 7, a US naval unit stationed in Singapore. He also has more than 850 hours of flight time under his belt.

When asked if the training they received as navy aviators is harder than that of Air Force pilots, Michael quipped, "Oh absolutely!"

But Jason preferred a more diplomatic take on their friendly rivalry with Air Force pilots.

He said: "I'm not going to say that [about] the Air Force. But we've got to do water survival. And if you've never been in a 'helo dunker', you haven't lived." 

"That's not a lot of fun," he added.

"And naval aviators land on aircraft carriers, Air Force [pilots] land on land. Which is harder, you tell me?"

From misconceptions about their job to how they use the bathroom while flying, here are some other interesting tidbits we learnt from these naval aviators.

Not all naval aviators are fighter pilots

While Top Gun: Maverick sees Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) and his crew of hotshot naval pilots blasting off from an aircraft carrier in their F-18 fighter jets to take on a dangerous mission, Michael and Jason told us their jobs are nothing like the movie.

"Everyone thinks that we are fighter pilots, but we are not," Commander Butler said, pointing out that he flies a P-3 Orion, a maritime patrol aircraft that is used for reconnaissance missions.

Lieutenant Fortunati, on the other hand, accumulated over 700 hours flying a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopter while he was supporting the US Navy Seventh Fleet that was based in Japan.

Training to fly is like going back to school

Just like school kids cramming when exams are around the corner, Michael shares that the 22-week period of primary training in flight school was the toughest part of training.

As someone with "pretty good hand-eye coordination", flying itself wasn't the most difficult thing, Michael explained.

"It's the amount of information [I] had to learn in such a short period of time.

"I was looking for a house, learning all these materials, and also hopping into a simulator aircraft. [All] within a week."

While it might sound mentally draining just hearing about it, Michael explained that the training is essential as pilots have to know what to do in emergency situations. 

'We came close to putting an aircraft in the water'

Given the nature of their job, the men had their share of flirting with danger.

For Michael, the vigorous training in flight school might have saved his life while in the air.

Describing how he had to land a helicopter on a "small ship the size of a parking lot" in adverse conditions, he said: "The sky and the water all looked the same, just pitch black. Ship's rocking.

"Luckily having the training that we had, and the communication between the crew… [It] saved our lives that night. But we came very close to putting a perfectly good aircraft in the water."

An urgent bathroom break? Just use a bottle instead

Have you ever had the problem of finding a place to relieve your bladder?

For Michael, flying a helicopter for hours means that 'holding it in' is not always an option.

"We just use [an] empty water bottle," he said.

On the other hand, Jason doesn't have to worry about bathroom issues. He shared that there's actually a toilet on military aircrafts like the P-3 Orion.

But there are some of their colleagues who don't even need to lift so much as a finger.

Apparently, some tactical pilots have "special suits" to help them relieve their bladder while in the air, Jason revealed.

The more you know!

chingshijie@asiaone.com