What does below the hard deck mean?

The term originated with fighter pilots. “Hard deck” was slang for an altitude (10,000 feet or so) that represented ground level during flight training exercises. If you went below the hard deck, you had hypothetically crashed and were out of the exercise.

What does bogey mean in Top Gun?

A bogey is an unidentified aircraft. Once identified, it is referred to as a “friendly” (for friendly aircraft), “bandit” (for non-friendly aircraft) or “hostile” (for non-friendly aircraft that may be fired at).

How hard is it to become a pilot in the Navy?

Navy and Marine pilots must also undergo the Aviation Selection Test Battery and score among the highest. The test is extremely grueling and if you fail once, your chances of becoming a pilot drop significantly.

What happens if you hit the hard deck?

If you hit the hard deck, you’re dead and you have to call “hard deck kill. Knock it off”. The fight is over and you lose, assuming the other guy didn’t also hit the “hard deck”. We were always extremely aware of the “hard deck” because it represented “death” in a real life fight.

How do you duck below the hard deck to avoid shots?

First, there is no “ducking below the hard deck” to avoid a shot. Under the training rules, if you get to 10,000′ (or where ever they’ve set the hard deck), you have hit the imaginary ground and are dead (for training purposes). Climb up, reset, and try again. That’s why it’s called a hard deck.

Do you make the cut to become a fighter pilot?

Well, we’re sorry to say, but you very likely don’t make the cut. In order to even be considered for the lengthy training process that fighter pilots go through, you have to be in the top percentile of healthy, capable bodies. If you’re still curious how you’d stack up, check out the requirements below.