1 definition by StarBeatShuwa-APFSDSType10

It is also "Rooster argument". The origin comes from the callsign of Bradley Bradshaw "Rooster" from movie Top Gun: Maverick. In the movie, Rooster and his pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell escape a hostile airbase using a F-14A Tomcat before being intercepted by a pair of 5th-Generation Sukhoi Su-57 Felon fighters. Maverick says that the F-14A objectively cannot handle a 5th-Gen fighter but Rooster refutes by dropping the famous quote: "It's not the plane, it's the pilot". (Rooster also said this earlier in the film where he got furious towards Maverick pulling out his papers in the academy.)

A lot of the people who are into military aviation (especially in video games) who debate the 'hard factors' of an aircraft (i.e. debating the flight performance of the F-86F vs MiG-15bis) will usually use this quote to refute the argument based on their skill or in general. Completely ignoring the point of the argument just so they feel better.
Kyle: "According to the data I gathered, this plane has a better thrust to weight ratio and turn rate than this other plane..."
Tim: "Doesn't matter. It depends on who is flying it."
Kyle: "Are you really gonna drop the Rooster quote?"
by StarBeatShuwa-APFSDSType10 December 12, 2022
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