Fighter pilots are trained aviators who rule the skies and take enemies head-on. Having a fighter pilot theme party is an awesome way to celebrate birthdays and other parties for anyone who is a fighter pilot aficionado. Here are some tips to remember before your party takes off.

No Need to Fight: Invitation for Your Fighter Pilot Party

Fighter pilots’ uniforms are either dark green or dark blue, so you can go with those colors when choosing paper for your invitations. You can then have a silhouette of a fighter aircraft, aviator shades or the distinctive fighter pilot helmet called “bone dome”, complete with a visor and and oxygen mask. If you have time, you can even cut out the silhouette of any of these items so that the invitation itself is shaped like the aircrafts and flight helmets.

If you want your invitations to be a little less solemn, you can use red, white and blue flag colors of different variations. For example, your card’s envelope can be red, while the invitation inside will be blue. You can also use stripes, stars and other patriotic symbols.

To really get them in the mood and theme of the party, you can ask your guests to come in dressed as a fighter pilot or dressed as their favorite real or fictional fighter pilot.

Ace Party Decorations

Fighter pilots are dedicated to defending their country, so when it comes to your fighter pilot party, don’t be scared to go a little patriotic. Banners, streamers and balloons in red, white and blue colors are appropriate. Your tablecloths should be white, lined with either red, blue or dark green, like the fighter pilots’ uniforms. You can also have dangling streamers with paper fighter aircrafts hanging at the bottom to give them an appearance of flying.

For centerpieces for your tables, you can have fighter aircraft vases by using tall, round, thin vases. Print out two copies of a picture of a fighter aircraft from the side view, approximately the same length or longer than the vases. Cut out the shape and tape two of them on the two sides of the vase. Put in white and red flowers like daisies and roses, or several sticks of tobacco. Another centerpiece idea is to have clear shallow bowls with floating candles in red, white and blue candles to help fire up the place.

A big banner of a fighter aircraft on your wall is also a simple, but festive option. Have silver streamers coming out of the tail end of the aircraft to give a feeling of motion. Little American flags with red, white and blue tinsel stars around them are also great.

American flag

Edward Rickenbacker

You can also put up posters of famous fighter pilots like the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen, Oswald Boelcke (the mentor of the Red Baron), Edward Rickenbacker, Richard Bong and Frank Luke, to name a few. Posters of fictional fighter pilots like Kara Thrace from Battlestar Galactica, Rick Hunter from Macross, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars and Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell from Top Gun are also wonderful additions.

If you are a fighter pilot aficionado, the party is the best time to show off all your fighter pilot memorabilia and items. Just make sure you put them in a safe place where they won’t be damaged.

When your guests arrive, hand out paper hats made to look like the air force’s helmet or the caps of their dress uniforms. You can also hand out name tags with the air force’s insignia on them and even hand out officer’s stripes and medallions.

Zooming Fighter Pilot Party Games and Activities

You don’t need to have a flight simulator to enjoy your fighter pilot party. Here are some fun suggestions and things you can do on your party with a flighty twist.

• Charades. Fighter pilots get to see a lot of action, so it’s no wonder that Hollywood has made tons of movies about them. Make these movies and their characters part of your charades and have your guests start guessing. Here are some fighter pilot movies to get you started: Behind Enemy Lines, Top Gun, Panic, Fighter Pilot, Stealth, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
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  Fighter pilot paper target
  Shooting Games. Being a fighter pilot means that you must have a good aim to bring your enemies down! Set up your own shooting gallery by preparing paper targets, air guns and pellets. Make sure you set it up somewhere it won’t inadvertently hit your unsuspecting guests. The one who shoots best is declared an ace and a winner.
• Fighter Pilot Games. With the help of video games, you don’t need any real training for a fighter pilot’s experience. Set up a comfortable area where you and your friends can play fighter pilot games on your game consoles or Wii. Some games you might want to try out are Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Nintendo Wii), Fighter Pilot, Warbids III and Fighter Pilot Academy.
• Movie Viewing. Rent a few fighter pilot movies, so you and your guests can kick off your shoes and enjoy with a little bit of popcorn and soda.
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  Fighter pilot dancing
  Dance Off. If there’s anything Tom Cruise showed us in Top Gun, it’s that fighter pilots know how to party. Crank up the volume, put on those aviator shades, and may the best dancing fighter pilot win!
• Fighter Pilot Trivia. Are you a geek for anything related to fighter pilots? Test your guests’ fighter pilot aptitude by setting up a fighter pilot “game show” trivia contest that will pit two groups of your guests against each other. You can ask relatively simple questions like “How many kills does a fighter pilot have to get in aerial combat to be called an ace?” to difficult ones like “Who is the first recognized flying ace?”

Top Flight Fighter Pilot Party Food

Fighter pilots are always on the go, but they also need filling food to keep them healthy. If you know how to perfectly balance fast food with healthy options, then you can do this properly. You can even base your menu on the kind of food they rationed out that soldiers and fighter pilots carried around in their missions.

• Beef Jerky. Fighter pilots used to carry preserved meats with them on their missions. Having beef jerky is an unusual appetizer that your guests can nibble on while enjoying the party. (Learn how to make beef jerky)
• Corned Beef. Make a hearty corned beef stew with cabbages and potatoes or corned beef sandwiches. Corned beef was an integral part of wartime diet because its preparation is made to last longer than other food items.
• “Ration” Bars. Brownies, candy and chocolate bars, granola bars and all kinds of yummy bars can stand for “ration bars,” food items carried around by soldiers in packets that were nutritious and nourishing.
• Mashed Potatoes and Peas. Potatoes and peas were also part of the rations handed out during the war. Prepare this classic dish and pair it with mutton or roast chicken.
• Sandwiches. Ham, bacon, tuna salad and chicken salad with lots of lettuce and tomatoes are always a treat. Cut them into fighter plane shapes to make them more in line with the party theme.




Yummy mashed potatoes and peas

Sweet chocolates

Delicious sandwiches

• American Classics. You can have some good old American-style food in your menu like hamburgers, hotdog sandwiches, chili and sloppy joes. Easy to prepare and delicious to boot.
• Mixed Fruits Bowl. Make your menu healthier by having a mixed bowl of sliced fruits like apples, pears, peaches and pineapples for everyone to enjoy. Fresh fruits were a luxury during the war, so let your guests know how lucky they are to nibble and stuff themselves on these treats.
• Chocolate. Chocolate was treated like gold during the two world wars, and were even used for bartering and trading. Thankfully, chocolate is abundant today. Serve chocolate cake, pudding or ice cream to your guests. (Tips on how to make homemade chocolate)
• Cupcakes. Prepare cupcakes with red, white and blue frosting. It’ll reflect the party’s color motif well.
• Fighter Pilot Cake. Your local bakery shops may offer cakes that fit in your fighter pilot theme. Have them design the cake with the image of a fighter aircraft or have a small candy aircraft on top of the cake. It can be decorated in red, white and blue frosting with tiny chocolate medallions.

How to make cupcakes

Have a flying good time with your fighter pilot party with family and friends. It may sound like a daunting theme for an adult party, but with these tips and tricks, it’ll be anything but a children’s party. Have fun!