Imperial Pilots and TIE Pilots

[Taliesin_Bardwolf]

Well, I expect this thread was in the correct place.

I have a question about imperial pilots, and hope some of you could answer it to me. There are imperial pilots and TIE pilots. The first ones pilot capital ships, shuttles, etc.

In some places (maybe Imperial Sourcebook, I can't remember it) it is said that TIE pilots are taken from the group of imperial pilots, and they are the best. Ok, but, then... officers in the Imperial Navy come from the same academy, and they are trained first as pilots, so...TIE pilots have better skills than imperial officers? I am a bit confussed :S

PD: I have made a thread asking for an image from an Imperial Pilot (not a TIE pilot) so if anyone has one of them...

[Phalanks Balas]

TIE pilots are selected because of their best aptitude of piloting. Naval officers are selected because of their command, general military knowledge aptitudes. Thus yes a TIE pilot is better than Naval officer (except TIE squadron officer) at piloting TIE fighter
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Phalanks

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[Jamfke]

From the Imperial Sourcebook,

"From the men who fly the capital ships to the men who leap into the cockpits of the TIE fighters, Imperial pilots are the mainstay of the Imperial Navy. They are the necessary element in the military branch charged with protecting the space lanes from pirates, smugglers, alien invaders, and Rebels."

This covers both standard and TIE pilots. They each seem to wear the same uniform as well. If you look at each type's equipment list, they both have the same things listed:

Imperial Pilot's equipment list
Blaster pistol (4D), flight suit, navigational computer linkup helmet (internal comlink, +1D to sensors), survival gear

TIE Pilot's equipment list
Navigational computer linkup helmet (internal comlink, + ID to sensors), high gravity stress flight suit with life support equipment, one week emergency rations, blaster pistol (4D), survival gear

The only difference is that when on the capital ships, they don't need the high grav suit with life support or the one week's worth of rations.

I don't think I've seen a separate pic of a standard pilot before though, but I could be wrong.

Gry would know, he's da man!
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[Gry Sarth]

Hehe, thanks Jim. I had a feeling I would be called into this discussion sooner or later.

Unfortunately, I don't have a clear official answer to give you. Everywhere the Imperial Pilot is mentioned (quickly followed by the TIE Pilot), there's a standard TIE Pilot picture next to it. From that and the described equipment listing, we're led to believe they look very similar to normal TIE Pilots, with possibly the only difference being the lack of a high-stress vacuum suit, as mentioned by Jamfke.

However, I have a hard time imagining a guy wearing that helmet on the command bridge of an imperial capital ship, it just feels wrong. All the personnel seen on the Star Destroyers' bridges wore variations of the Officer uniform. At most I'd imagine an Imperial Pilot wearing something like the Naval Trooper helmet or even a Gunner's helmet, but not a TIE Pilot's, with that bulky breathing system....
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"He's Gry Sarth, of course he has the stats for them."

[Pel]

Agreed. At least one of those guys in the "pit crew" is the pilot. They have similar skills without the bulky flight suit. After all, capital ships have life support (unlike TIEs) so the pilot doesn't need that fancy helmet or suit.
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Aha!

[Taliesin_Bardwolf]

Well, that is why I have asked this question. I am making a database, with NPCs, images, skills, etc, and I have made TIE pilots, but I dind't know how to make standar pilot.

Now I think I am going to find an image from a Officer uniform and maybe I make some changes, as colour or erasing symbols.