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Pilots aren’t always a dime a dozen when it comes to Star Wars, but there are sure a lot of people that know how to fly, apparently. Some of them start when they’re extremely young, like Anakin Skywalker, who was the youngest human to ever podrace, perhaps the only one. Others are somehow just naturally skilled and take to piloting as though it’s second nature. Those who use the Force are exceptionally skilled thanks to their enhanced reflexes and their ability to know what’s coming, but those that don’t have the Force to rely on are exceptionally skilled as well since their instincts and their reflexes might not be able to compare to the Jedi, but they’re still impressive all the same. Two of the greatest pilots in the entire franchise belong to two very different eras, but the argument over who’s the best is one that is capable of stirring up a lot of different reasons why both of them would be near the top of the list when it comes to the capable pilots that inhabit the Star Wars universe.
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Rey makes the top of a lot of lists in Star Wars because…she’s Rey.
Unfortunately, this means that Rey is given the benefit simply because she turned up and was the answer to a lot of supposed issues that the Star Wars franchise may or may not have had. She’s an interesting character since she can use the Force in a way that not a lot of other characters have, meaning she’s naturally gifted and somehow can fight skilled opponents with no training and can overpower someone like Kylo Ren without any real effort. Her piloting skills have been shown to be exceptional, which isn’t too surprising since, of course, it’s Rey. She can do whatever the story needs her to. Giving her props for her skills is all well and good, but holding her accountable for actually earning those skills would be nice. On top of that, she did have help from Chewbacca in flying the Millennium Falcon at one point.
Some folks would rather cite Luke’s crashes instead of his successes.
It’s true that Luke has crashed on Dagobah, he’s crashed on Hoth, and he relied heavily on the Force at times while flying, but it’s also true that he’s the son of a masterful pilot and his reflexes are well-honed and allow him to be one of the best pilots in the entire galaxy. If folks had read the Legends canon, they would know that Luke is one of the greatest pilots that’s ever lived and has done several things in the cockpit that have defied the naysayers in just about every way. Pitting him against Rey, though, is a little tough since one has to remember that these two come from very different eras in which technology has changed just a bit. Those who are hung up on Luke only nailing Wamp rats on Tatooine might need to remember that this is the guy that performed the Death Star run and came out alive. Rey has done some fantastic things as a pilot, but she’s not at Luke’s level, not even close.
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Pitting Rey against an older Luke Skywalker might give her a chance…maybe.
If both were to test their piloting skills against each other in their prime, Luke would win hands down since, as an experienced X-Wing pilot, he could have run circles around Rey without breaking a sweat. But as an old man, it does feel that Rey might have had some advantage when it came to her reflexes, but not her experience. One thing that a lot of people don’t appear to take into account when they’re discussing anything about Rey is that she hasn’t been around nearly as long as Luke, and despite the fact that she’s a Palpatine, technically, her skill level doesn’t match up to Luke’s in just about anything. If one wants to mention that she put Luke on his butt, they might need to watch The Last Jedi again and realize that Luke was backing away and was trying to fend Rey off, not attack her. Keeping in mind that Rey is young and has more energy is great, but experience usually trumps youth unless experience has faded.
Rey is a talented pilot and fighter, but she still isn’t of the same caliber as those who have many years on her in this franchise.
When compared to those who have been added to the franchise in recent years, Rey is definitely worth paying attention to. But at the very least, she’s third or fourth in line on the list of best pilots, behind Luke. She might edge out Han, but only by dint of the Force since Han Solo has managed to survive some of the most harrowing experiences in the galaxy.