Pilot
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
A Pilot is a person, typically of a military service, that can operate and maneuver a ground, airborne, or spaceborne vehicle.
Covenant
A surprisingly large number of Covenant species possess the intelligence necessary to pilot craft. Groups of Brutes or Elites can operate a spaceborne Covenant ship, such as the CCS-class Battlecruiser or the Reverence-class Cruiser, by operation of holographic consoles at the control bridge of the warship. Engineers also help in the technical maintenance of warship systems, although it is unknown if they can pilot and operate the actual warship itself. A single Brute or Elite can also pilot a Phantom dropship.
Elites and Brutes can pilot a single person Banshee attack fighter. Grunts are also known to be able to pilot Banshees albeit clumsily. It is unknown how they fit inside the Banshee's cockpit with a methane tank on as it is never seen in-game, it is mentioned only once, in Halo: The Flood.
Elite pilots have their own Flight Suit for operations in a varierty of airborne vessels.It is unknown if Brutes have them though.
Vehicles used by Covenant pilots
Dropships
Fixed wing
Other
United Nations Space Command
There are two main types of pilots in the UNSC Defense Force: those of the UNSC Navy and the Marine aviators of the UNSC Marine Corps. Large crews of Navy crewmen operate and maintain UNSC starships such as Marathon-class Cruisers. Longsword-class Interceptors, Sparrowhawks, Hornets and Pelican Dropship. All can be operated by just one Navy pilot, as can Bumblebee lifepods.
It is seen that the Pelicans of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn are exclusively operated by two pilots from 23rd Naval Air Squadron, while in Halo 2, the Pelicans of the UNSC In Amber Clad are operated by Marine pilots. It is unknown in Halo 3 from what service of the UNSCDF the Pelican Dropships will be flown by - in the Halo 3 E3 2007 Trailer, a Pelican is seen operated by a single pilot in what appears to be a green camouflage pattern pressure suit, although others have speculated that this pilot may be an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper though this is unlikely.
While only select UNSCDF personnel operate spaceborne and airborne craft, all marines of the UNSC Marine Corps are seen to demonstrate prowess in operating all UNSC ground vehicles - Scorpions, Warthogs, and Mongooses, and even the Covenant Ghost as well. ODSTs also operate their own Orbital Drop Pods.
In Halo 2, Marine Dropship pilots wear ballistic helmets with a golden visor and a communications system installed in it. They wear the same armor as that of the Marine infantry men. In Halo 3 they use the same body armor as that of a marine but with a modified helmet again, this time being a sealed helmet with a blue visor reminiscent of a modern fighter pilot's helmet.
An interesting tidbit is that in Halo 3, the Pilot's helmets are invulnerable to any projectile. Another odd fact is that it takes 1,000,000 cR to train a pilot, such as the education, flight simulation training, the written tests, fuel and the plane itself, not to mention the taxes that are paid to keep the service working.
Vehicles used by UNSC Pilots
Dropships
Fixed-wing
Gunships
Other
Named Dropships/Fighters with Mentioned Pilots:
- Bravo 001 -Flight Officer Mitchell - KIA
- Bravo 022- KIA
- Charlie 217 -Lieutenant Rick Hale - KIA
- Echo 136 -Lieutenant Peterson - KIA
- Echo 206 -Petty Officer Second Class Polaski - KIA
- Echo 419 -Captain Carol "Foehammer" Rawley - KIA + Lieutenant Frye - KIA + Crew Chief Cullen - KIA
- Kilo 023 -Hocus - active service
- Victor 933 - acitve service although pelican was destroyed
- Knife 26 - (Not Mentioned) KIA
In the Covenant
Pilots are relatively unseen in the Halo Series themselves. In Halo: Combat Evolved, Elites were pilots for Spirits. In Halo 2 Brutes were seen piloting a Phantom during a cutscene and so have Elites. Now, after the separation from the Covenant, the Elites have their own type of Phantom, which is simply a modified variant known as the Separatist Phantom. Elites have also been seen piloting Scarab walkers in Halo 2.
