Fighter pilots in World War 1 are often quoted as having a life expectancy of weeks or days. Why did people become pilots and fight if this was the case?

by plazmablu
RedditSciFi

A follow-up question: Is that quoted life-expectancy even accurate? If so, did that change over the course of the war due to technological improvements in air combat? Were life-expectancies any different between the major powers due to differing policies on pilot training before combat?