The relationship of physical fitness on pilot candidate selection in the Israel Air Force

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine whether physical fitne ss is an important component in the selection process of pilot candidates t o the Israel Air Force (IAF) flight school. Methods: There were 223 male pi lot candidates who volunteered to participate in the study. All subjects we re tested 1-12 wk prior to a week-long "bootcamp" for aerobic power (Astran d bicycle test), anaerobic power (vertical jump test), and percent body fat , in addition, an activity profile was established based on an activity his tory questionnaire. All fitness measures were correlated to a performance s core based on the IAF selection criteria measure for each candidate. Result s: Candidates who were accepted to flight school had a higher aerobic capac ity, anaerobic power output relative to body weight and a lower percent bod y fat than candidates who were not successful. Significant correlations wer e seen between the performance score and aerobic power (r = 0.31), anaerobi c power (r = 0.17) and anaerobic power relative to body weight (r = 0.21). Linear regression analysis showed that aerobic power explained 9% of the va riance in the performance score, while anaerobic power explained an additio nal 3%. The results of this study suggest that physical fitness has a posit ive influence on the success of pilot candidates in gaining admittance to t he IAF flight school.