Who is the better pilot, Luke or Anakin?

Anakin: 14
Luke: 8

(I haven't counted The_Fury's or Master_Scotter's or spring_warm's votes as I wasn't sure where they were voting. )

Hmm! I believe Luke is now over halfway there. He can catch up with Anakin yet.

Aunecah

 

I vote for Luke. Both were great pilots, and certainly a case can be made for either; but to me Luke's destruction of the Death Star puts him slightly higher. Sure, Vader probably would have gotten him if it hadn't been for Han's return; but I think Luke was at a disadvantage in that situation, as he had no room to maneuver, could not return Vader's fire, and had to also focus on the exhaust port.

 

Anakin is the better pilot in the prequels, Luke is the better pilot in the OT. It's that simple.

Also, just as an aside -- I don't think that X-wings are outdated equipment. They seem to perform pretty well against TIEs.

 

Yeah, I agree, I don't think X-wings are outdated.

 

Depends on what stage of Anakin you're referring to. Luke may be a better pilot than Ep. 2 Anakin, but it's hard to say because Luke wasn't around then. But as for Darth Vader, I think he was a better pilot because he was more powerful than Luke at that time. He probably would have killed Luke if Han hadn't come by in the falcon. So chalk up my vote for anakin.

 

I think in ep3 we will see why Anakin is the best pilot in the Skywalker family.

 

Luke is better- After all he meant to blow up the Death Star. Anakin should have shot him down, but Luke managed to evade, despit the space limitation and the fact that he could do nothing about Vader. Anakin only blew up that droid control ship cos he accidentaly crashed into it and he accidentally fired those torps. He did nothing else during that battle except make annoying comments. But the best pilot in the whole thing is either Wedge or Han.

 

Based on evidence in the films...I'd say Anakin.

 

i'd say Anakin.

 

Anakin: 19
Luke: 10

(Come on Luke - you can get there. )

I suppose that if Yoda's "age matters not" counts then "count matters not" counts as well.

(I haven't counted The_Fury's or Master_Scotter's or spring_warm's votes as I wasn't sure where they were voting; I also counted Phantom_Iam's vote for Anakin. )

EDIT: I have this really bad habit of posting right when somebody else is posting....

Aunecah

 

Luke.

By the movies, I have to say Anakin seems better at it - I say that rather than more skilled, because it seems to me it has more to do with his Force ability than actual skill (he was nine). On the other hand, you could say the same with Luke, except the Force element isn't so obvious (just the lack of targeting computer).

So I say Luke, simply because I like his character better.

 

Anakin now he podraced(only human) and he blew up the TF battleship.

AOTC was love story.

Maybe EPIII will showcase his flying talents.

Luke was lucky to have Han save him.

 

Anakin

 

Definitely Anakin.

Even as Vader, he had Luke, before Han got there (as others have said), and managed to get what looks like a very technologically advanced TIE (wasn't he piloting a prototype at that stage in the game?) under control from a spin and survive the DeathStar. (You could say Luke had Obiwan's help...). Not only that he just looked so much cooler doing it...

The Battle of Naboo, the Podrace, and the Coruscant chase scene speak for themselves. Awesome flying. Whereas again.... he just looks so much cooler doing it...

I think in EPIII we'll see the reason they call him "the Best Starfighter Pilot in the Galaxy"....

(Plus Anakin's new ship from Hasbro is pretty awesome...)

 

One thing to bare in mind regarding Vader "having" Luke in ANH. In the trench, there is no maneuvering room. It's nothing more than a shooting galleria with near stationary targets. This went both ways for Luke and Vader. As soon when Han showed up, suddenly Vader and co. were easy pickings. Had their been maneveuring room, Han might not have been able to save Luke (he'd only been able to gun down one of the three fightes by surprise before the others could react, but this turned out not to be a problem given the circumstances).

So Luke had two choices: abandon the attack run, leave the trench and get into a dog fight with Vader, or hope he could get the shot off in time. The later was his choice, and a wise choice, even without Han. Without Han he would've died and failed, but had he abandoned the attack run in either event, the Rebellion would have died and Luke still might not have escaped (out numbered as it was). It's a catch 22 situation, but he choose the noble path.

Besides, did Vader really have Luke? The way that scene went, Vader said "I have you now" started shooting, then Han arrived. Notice, Vader was already shooting and managed not to hit Luke with that first volley.

 

I'm undecided about who the better pilot is, but you have to remember that Vader had the upper hand in the Death Star battle.

When Vader approached Luke in the trench, he had only just launched in his fighter. Luke had to pilot his way towards the Death Star through TIE fighters and gun turrets, and by the time he had reached the exhaust port, his ship had already taken some damage. Vader didnt have to fight his way through the trench to reach Luke, he didnt have gun turrets blasting at him from all angles, Vader didnt have much opposition, so destroying Luke's X wing would have been like shooting a fish in a barrel.

 

Eloquently put guys. Here's the reason I think Anakin is the better pilot:

The Death Star run was practically the only real time that we saw Luke's flying skills (he, of course, also flew-fought in ESB (Hoth), but that's an entirely different case). Yes, he did fly bravely and commendingly in there, but he really was no match for Vader. The only reason that he managed to evade Vader was Han's appearance. Put the Death Star destruction tension away, and what we basically have is a dog chase. Luke's flight was basically guided by the Force, and I think, even though Vader relied on the Force just as much, he had more intrinsic piloting skills than Luke - I don't know, but unless I see Luke in the Beggar's Canyon that he talks about, I think I would have to go with Anakin after what I saw - with him podracing (and winning) at nine, and then the Trade Federation space fight and the subsequent chase in AotC through Coruscant. That's flying that's pretty hard to match up.

I would say Han is more on the level of Anakin - even without the Force - but you already knew that, didn't you?

Aunecah

 

I don't know. I'm torn. I'll say Luke because I like him better.

I mean, he FOUNDED Rogue Squadron, the elite fighter squadron of the Rebellion/NR, only the best of the best need apply. Sort of like the US NFWS. Not only that, but he commanded the squadron. He wasn't an average, mediocre, or normal pilot. He was a superlative pilot, and IMO on the same level with Anakin, Wedge, and Han, at the very least.

As far as the Death Star trench run, even though there was no maneuvering room for Luke, even though Vader was hot on his tail, even though it was like shooting fish in a barrel (i.e. hard to miss), Vader STILL could not shoot Luke out of the sky with any sort of ease. Vader had trouble targeting Luke with all of the advantages he had and all of the disadvantages Luke had. Vader really had to work to get a target on Luke, which shouldn't have been so hard considering the circumstances. Skywalker did an excellent job.

You can't penalize Luke for having the Force in this scene if you don't penalize Anakin for it as well. In fact, Vader was far, far more adept at drawing on it that Luke was!

 

Without a single moment of hesitation, I will have to say Anakin. I mean that boy could step into a ship and fly it like it was nothing.

 

I'll go with Ani/Vader. Luke survived to Vader's attack during Yavin battle thanks to R2-D2, who received a shot from Vader's TIE-ADVANCED.

 

Well The_Sith_Prophet,

Although we've seen Anakin in those awesome pod racing sequences and even flying "by the seat of his pants" in AOTC, it's Luke who has a fair share of scenes as a pilot.

I think the older trilogy showed us more of piloting skills with regard to the Skywalker men.

The newer episode focussed more on their abilities in the force, such as lightsaber skills-also , heheh

Hard to say.

The novelisations and the movie say Anakin was a fantastic pilot, but I guess there's more to come in Episode III...so we'll have to wait and see what GL shows us there!

 

If Anakin does what I think he'll do in Episode III, I would have to say hands down, it's Anakin.

 

Dancing_Jansons: Well, considering the relative ease with which Anakin - who's never flown a starship before - not only remained alive in the heat of the battle but also destroyed the Trade Federation control ship (though the shots were "random" at the best), I would definitely have to say Anakin. Though Luke showed himself to be a very good pilot in the OT, remember that Han's the star fo the scene.

I think a better question would be who's better as a pilot - Han or Anakin.

Aunecah

 

I accept that you like Anakin better and that he could be the better pilot. But, you see, I must vote for Luke because he's losing and I like him better.

As for Han, he didn't really do anything in at the trench as far as fighting goes. He fought no battles. He came in late, after everyone else had been killed, and ambushed Vader from behind when Vader was focusing on the rebel who was trying to blow up the Death Star. That was Vader's mistake, which allowed Han to sneak up on him after his sudden attack of conscience.

Luke took the "one in a million" shot and actually blew the thing, but he couldn't have done it if not for Han's sudden appearance, correct. Both were the stars of the scene because no one else could have taken that shot. Heroes, heroes everywhere.

(Although, I have a confession: I liked Han the best in ANH. And Yoda in ESB. And Luke in ROTJ).



edit: happy faces NOT working

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa - hold it right there. Where did you get the idea that I like Anakin better? He's actually on my list of most disliked people. And Luke's my second most favorite character in SW saga, but I still think Ani's better.

I didn't mean to offend you or anything - I was just discussing because that's what this forum is for.

Aunecah