Supporting Champions

Mandy Hickson on jet fighter pilot performance   This week I spoke to Mandy Hickson. Mandy is a fighter pilot, having joined the Royal Air Force in 1994 and flew the Tornado GR4 on the front line, where she operated in hostile environments, including patrolling the ‘No Fly’ zone over Iraq. I was fascinated to discuss with Mandy about the physical and mental challenges of training to become a top fighter pilot. I was particularly interested how pilot’s like Mandy improve, what are the stages of progression to go from small craft, to faster and more manoeuvrable craft, and then to train in such a way that you’re ready to operate and perform in a combat zone, where the stakes are as high as they get. The conversation is so rich with insight, where Mandy unpacks a number of situations, scenarios and seriously pressured circumstances with powerful detail and shares a number of useful frameworks that helped her to manage the fears and doubts but then rise to the top. She shares her insights with a combination