Utopia

A Popular theory of 1940 was that, 'if you had large front teeth like "Smithy" and could ride a horse and bicycle, you were pilot material.' Large teeth and bicycles aside, the reality was that to make the grade as a fighter pilot a recruit had to show particular qualities: they had to be confident, assertive and competitive. Key traits were a love of aviation and flying from an early age and a love of driving vehicles of all kinds. This was aided by a capacity for rapid cognitive functioning allowing for simultaneous inputs to be processed, prioritised and then acted on. While his confidence and assertiveness were there, but muted, Waters had demonstrated these traits. He possessed that quiet steel.