PT Why was Obi Wan so bad at flying?

In the OT we saw how the Force could give a pilot a huge advantage in flight. Luke, who had never really flown before, destroyed the Death Star without even using his on board computer. He used the Force. Funnily enough, it was Obi Wan who told him to do so.

Vader, another user of the Force, was a great pilot too.

So why was this totally abandoned in the PT? Why was Obi Wan so horribly inept at flight? Jango and Boba totally owned him. In EP III he barely got aboard the Invisible Hand in one piece.

Why did the Force stop helping pilots in the PT?

 

Bad at flying? Did you see his maneuvers when that missile chased him?
I'd say that he was a pretty good pilot - He just wasn't very fond of flying, so he never mastered it like, for instance, Anakin.





"Flying is for droids!"
/LM

 

Ric Olie could have done those maneuvers. Why did he never use the Force while flying, like Luke and Vader did in the OT? I'm not saying he should be the best, but the OT showed that Force Users have a distinct advantage during flight over non Force Users.

This is not a PT bashing thread btw, I love the PT. But I am confused as to how such an important point could have been overlooked.

 

Agreed.
Ric Olie was a good pilot, too, but I actually don't believe that he would've pulled that off. Obi-Wan's moves were clearly Force guided.





"The Force is strong with this one"
/LM

 

It wasn't. At nine years old, Anakin won the Boonta Eve pod race and then blew up a Trade Federation battleship.

He wasn't, he just doesn't like flying. Obi-Wan flew this:

The most advanced interceptor in the galaxy. If they even let you fly this thing, you're a good pilot. Obi-Wan takes this thing and makes it twist, turn, roll and dive through an asteroid field and he does it all without losing control even once.

When Han did it in ESB Leia thought it was damn impressive. Remember the TIE pilots following him? Yeah, they all crashed and burned.

Flying is Anakin's thing, I'm sure Lucas made the distinction between the two on purpose.

If by "totally owned him", you mean they led him straight to Count Dooku, I agree.

 

As ludicrous as it was, it was obviously mostly the Force that was guiding him during the space battle over Naboo and not any actual skill.

He was like a kid mashing buttons in a video game, yet he shockingly manages to beat the game without even realizing it.

 

I'd think with missiles locked onto you, it'd be difficult for any pilot to evade them (not impossible, difficult). He did ok with Jango/Boba.

As to ROTS, the manuever he and Anakin did worked for Anakin - the droids targeted Obi-Wan. Then his cockpit fogged up. There's more details in the novel if you're interested.

 

I think he was a good flyer, just hated it.

 

Indeed.

 

The novelization of Episode III describes him as "a brillant flyer who doesn't like to fly" among other things.

 

as i've stated a million times that I might aswell put it as a sig

the ROTS novel also says Padme was the yongest queen on naboo

so take the novel with a pinch of salt imo

 

No, both Anakin and Obi-Wan get targeted by buzz droid missiles, but Anakin destroys the missiles that are targeting him with his spinning maneuver.

 

Sistros: sure, that's a given, especially in the movie forums.

But it at least provides an explanation for what is not clear in the movies (because for example most of us I would assume are not fighter pilots and therefore would find it difficult to find an explanation regarding such scenes as this post asks about - heck, someday I'll have to ask my brother who is an ex-fighter jock although only F4s).

 

I always liked that scene because it referenced back to little Ani's "I'll try spinning, that's a good trick." Only now Anakin has the experience to pull it off a bit more nicely. That and some other references to TPM Anakin (such as his "oops" in the elevator), make the ROTS opening really fun to watch.

In regards to Obi-Wan...I'm not quite seeing how he's bad at flying. Heck, one could argue that Boba Fett picked up on Han's sneaky trick with the garbage because he realized that Obi-Wan must have pulled off something similar to hide from him and his father -- sticking to a larger object to shield his presence. Also, not liking something doesn't preclude you from being good at it.

Obi-Wan was, at the very least, an above average pilot.

What I always found funny about Obi-Wan was what he told Anakin:

"Sorry, I forgot you don't like flying, Master."

"I don't mind flying, but what you're doing is suicide."

But then later....

"Oh blast, this is why I hate flying..."

So apparently, you do hate flying, don't you, Obi-Wan?

It just amuses me so much. One of the things I love about AOTC Obi-Wan.

 

Why was Obi-Wan so bad at friggin' everything?

 

That is suggested by someone on the commentary - John Knoll, I think.

 

Who proceeded beat Obi-Wan so hard he was writhing on the floor in agony.

Sorry, I never get tired of pointing that out.

 

Why was Obi-Wan so bad at friggin' everything?

------

I know I probably shouldn't have

but I LOLed

 

I can recall one time someone in the movies actually calls the Force to help them in a space battle and that was Luke just before he blew up the Death Star.
Remember when Vader got shot and tossed out into space after Han shot him? I don't recall anything like that happening to Obi-Wan, and Anakin/Vader is the better pilot.

 

Luke used the Force to help him focus on the target that would lead to the Death Star's destruction. That's all. He was already a pilot before he joined the Rebellion.

Han never shot down Vader's fighter. He shot two (or more) TIE fighters. The blasts from Han's shots sent Vader's fighter spiraling out of control.

 

Kenobi wasn't bad at flying. Obviously he wasn't as good as Anakin or even Luke, but he was good at flying. Though he didn't like to do it that much.

 

I know Han didn't actually shoot Vader, he shot the TIE fighter next to him. But either way Han, a non Force user, still took him out.

 

Biggs: "Luke is the best bush pilot in the Outer Rim Territiories."