Becoming a flight surgeon

This text is the inaugural lesson given by the Professor of Aeronautic Psychiatry and starts the training period for new flight surgeons in the French Air Force. Introducing the French Air Force Medicine Training Session, the author speaks about the psychological aspects in aviation medicine. Three points of pilots' psychology are developed: 1) the pilot's body as the source of intense sensations and as an object of important value; 2) the libidinal, narcissistic, and defensive aspects of the pilot's spirit; and 3) the pilot's environment with its characteristic relationships. These facts influence the medical approach and modify the physician-pilot relationship. The flight surgeon must pay attention and get ready for this specific practice.