نبذة مختصرة : International audience ; The social representation of the fighter pilot generally leads to consider it as an high-risk profession. The importance of danger in the fighter pilot - related Training at the French Air Force Academy can nowadays not be denied. As both a military and engineering School, this institution has developed reinforcement mechanisms of bents for risk. (Lahire, 2002). Observations and interviews with cadets has revealed assimilation processes built on three kind of legitimacy. We use a typology inspired by L. Boltansky and L. Thévenot’hypothesises (Boltanski, Thévenot, 1991), then three distinguished universal systems of reference : the “transcendence”, the “civic” and the “industrial’ cities. These correspond for us respectively 1 : “to deal with the death” with “grace” and to develop a fatalistic attitude ; 2 – to sacrifice one-self because of a patriotic and altruistic feelings; 3 – to strengthen confidence in a scientific logic, peculiar to the Engineers Culture. This last system of reference is characterized by a minimization of perception of risk. It results from a process of “embedding” (“enchâssement”; Peretti-Watel, 2000). By adopting such analytical framework, we can already underline a paradox : the coexistence of a scientific rationality and the “ordeal” dimension.of the aerial combat. These three articulated dimensions reinforce themselves in a diachronic way during the training relaying fighter pilot (Darmont, 2006). While the practice of risk take place progressively in training, the institutional discourses “operates vacuously”. During first years at the French Air Force Academy, the Cadets will adopt the Fighter Pilot Ethos, which is partially based upon the learning of a specific professional ethic.
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