You know how it is.Star Warsis set in space. You can’t have a space thing without spaceships, and you can’t have spaceships without pilots. Without all that, they’d just be plain old wars, and we get plenty of those already. Where’s the novelty?
But while the Star Wars universe is positively saturated with characters who know their way around a hyperspace lever, only a few can claim to be true artists in the cockpit. So which of the various pilots in a galaxy far, far away can be counted among the best?
Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens
Accomplishments
Piloted the two-person Millennium Falcon alone her first time, and knew exactly how to fix it
On her first time inthe cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, Rey not only managed to repel a First Order TIE Fighter attack, but she also did so on her own in a ship that all but requires a co-pilot. Not bad for a scavenger who hasn’t even left the planet in nearly 20 years.
You could ascribe some of Rey’s flying talent to her innate affinity as a Force user, but that wouldn’t teach her all the various mechanical tricks and bypasses she pulls off. The fact is, she’s loved ships all her life and managed to become a self-taught pilot without ever even getting off the ground. That’s a hyperfixation worth celebrating.
The Mandalorian
Kept a child alive and happy on a bounty-hunting gunship, effortlessly transitioned to an N-1 Starfighter
You’ve already got to have a certain level of finesse to have a tiny child as your passenger and keep it not only alive but happy. Din Djarin manages this with Grogu despite his many scrapes with various sides of the law, and does it regardless of ship.
Djarin’s first ship, the Razor Crest, was a gunship that he expertly handled like a starfighter. So when it was destroyed, it made sense that he’d be predisposed to his next craft, an actual modified N-1 Naboo Starfighter. Changing ships was barely a speed bump for him, and it takes a true pilot to make such a smooth transition.
Destroyed the second Death Star, led the Citizens' Fleet
The original owner of the Millennium Falcon had certainly better know how to handle it, and Lando Calrissian has proven time and time again that he does. His flying skills have been on full display for decades.
Regardless of co-pilot, Lando makes this ship purr like a kitten. That prowess of his has pulled off heists,destroyed a Death Star, and led probably the largest civilian fleet in history, the Citizens' Fleet, to save the galaxy in the nick of time, and he always looks good doing it.
Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope
Co-piloted the Millennium Falcon, turned the tide at the Battle of Crait
A good co-pilot will work with their partner seamlessly to bring the ship to its full potential. A great co-pilot doesn’t necessarily need a partner. Chewbacca may have spent most of his time aboard the Millennium Falcon helping out his buddy Han, but he’d have way more up his sleeves if he wore sleeves.
While Rey could manage to squeak out a victory her first time out on the Falcon, Chewie knows the old bird enough to save the day on Crait while massively outmatched by the First Order. Like Rey, he was piloting alone (RIP Han). But Rey also didn’t have to deal with Porg stowaways.
Star Wars Battlefront 2
Held her own against the best of the Empire and the Rebels, stopped Operation: Cinder
A great pilot can only do so much. That’s how things went during Iden Versio’s admittedlypretty dark time with the Empire. She was present during the Battle of Endor, but once the Death Star was destroyed, there wasn’t exactly much she could do except fight through overwhelming odds to escape.
It’s a good thing she did because her eventual defection to the side of the Rebels was a true boon for the good guys. Equally as lethal on foot or behind a flight stick, she piloted everything from TIE Fighters to X-Wings like a natural, helping end the Empire’s Operation: Cinder and proving her skill time and time again.
Piloted the Millennium Falcon, shortened the Kessel Run
A one-trick pony can still be pretty impressive if that trick is a good one. Lando Calrissian may have been the original owner of the Millennium Falcon, but it was Han Solo who truly brought out the ship’s potential, and not just through his extensive smuggling modifications.
True, he’s not exactly proficient as a pilot in other vehicles. But the Falcon is the equivalent of a semi-truck and he managed to sneak up on Darth freaking Vader. Between that and his maneuvering that shortened the Kessel Run (and ruined Star Wars fan discourse forever), he’s earned his reputation.
Co-piloted the Millennium Falcon, ultimately became part of the ship
This might be a bit of a controversial claim, but Han Solo may not have been half as successful as the pilot of the Millennium Falcon if L3-37 hadn’t been uploaded into the ship. It was seemingly the only way to save her after some catastrophic damage, and as tragic as it is, this decision saved millions of lives.
L3 was Lando’s co-pilot and one of themost underrated droids in Star Wars. Her activism for droid rights was practically treated as a joke by fans and even other characters, but her skill with the Falcon remained unquestionable. Later, she basically became the ship, and is very likely responsible for many of its most daring maneuvers.
Blew up the first Death Star, created and led Rogue Squadron
Luke Skywalker spent his youth training his piloting skills by targeting small animals around his family’s moisture farm on Tatooine. Putting aside the arguably sociopathic behavior, he was well-suited for his first big battle as part of the Rebels, even before the Force came into play.
There’s a reason Luke served as the leader of Rogue Squadron through both Legends and Canon. He’s always been a great pilot at his core beyond his Force-assisted shot that destroyed the Death Star. Through countless engagements, he repeatedly proved himself as Rogue Leader and became a legend.
Won the Boonta Eve Classic pod race as a kid, nearly eliminated the entire Rebel force during the Death Star run
While Luke was largely self-taught, he still had a bit of that drive in his blood from his father. Anakin Skywalker was established as an incredible pilot right from the first time he was mentioned, and even beforeeveryone knew he was Darth Vader, that skill hadn’t diminished with age (or robot limbs).
He crashed capital ships into stations, won a high-speed pod race as a child, kept a TIE Fighter afloat with the Force just so he could stand on top for the drama, and more. But commit just a few genocides and suddenly everyone remembers you for that and not the cool flying skills.
Led the Resistance pilots, was instrumental in destroying the Emperor’s fleet on Exegol
You might not think it at first given how Poe Dameron’s first appearance began with him being captured and ended with him crashing. But his reappearance later in The Force Awakens shows off exactly how much of an ace pilot he is.
As Poe leads the Resistance forces against a sizeable First Order presence, he effortlessly juggles giving orders and takes out fighters. His maneuvers through the sky, shooting down fighters in a blink, are just the first taste of a trilogy’s worth of sweet flying moves that culminated in even more ace flying against Palpatine at Exegol.
