The guy who posted that video on youtube commented that he thought the B-52 pilot must have been a superb stick and rudder pilot. My opinion is that he was exactly the opposite. He was a terrible pilot, and he had gotten away with a lot of stuff from pure dumb luck. He was probably a buff pilot because his poor skills and terrible attitude were likely recognized in pilot training and that may have kept him out of a fighter cockpit.
I reached this conclusion from two things - First, several of the maneuvers are so inherently dangerous and abusive of the airframe that only a terrible pilot would routinely do them. He must have had absolutely no concept that what he was doing was so horribly stupid. Second, his absolute disregard for policy, procedures, and regulations points to the the kind of pilot who is unteachable. Mediocre skills and an unteachable attitude does not equal good stick and rudder pilot in my book.
Considering his fate, it's almost a shame he didn't end up in fighters. That way he would have only killed himself and it probably would have happened earlier in his career so our nation wouldn't have invested so much money in his training.
He must have had some innate ability as a pilot, but as a fighter pilot and experienced instructor pilot, I would rate him as a merely mediocre stick and rudder pilot with a dangerous know-it-all attitude. These attitudes are mercilessly stomped out during training the second they are recognized, but it's obvious that sometimes a bad apple slips through.
If I sound harsh, well too bad. Part of my job is ensuring our newest pilots don't end up like this guy and I have nothing good to say about him, his career, or the circumstances and decisions that led to the mishap (starting with him getting his wings in the first place). I admit that it is 20/20 hindsight, but a pilot that poorly disciplined with that poor of a grasp of aerodynamics should have never graduated pilot training.
