Why Would Luke Be a Flight Leader on the Death Star Trench Run?

As we all know from A New Hope, Luke Skywalker became the hero of the Rebellion — one of the greatest pilots the galaxy had ever seen. But before he ever blew up the Death Star and saved the galaxy, Luke was already a skilled pilot in his own right. 

I’m here to point out that Luke didn’t just randomly get picked to join the Rebel assault — and he definitely didn’t just get lucky. From moments we see on film to deeper insights from Legends material, Luke proved himself not once, not twice, but over and over again.

Luke Was Already a Skilled Pilot Back When He Was Just a Farm Boy

Let’s start with the fact that Luke had already proven himself as an incredible pilot even before joining the Rebellion, including handling a podracer. In the Legends novel Star Wars: Rebel Force – Hostage, there’s a great moment where Luke mentions he was known as the best pilot in Mos Eisley.

During a tense moment, Leia asks Luke if he even knows how to control a podracer:

“You sure you understand the controls?”

Of course, Han, being Han, couldn’t resist throwing in some doubt:

“Just hold on tight, kid. No need to go too fast your first time out.”

Even Chewbacca lets out a concerned growl, and Han jokes back:

“Well, let’s hope he knows not to do that. Be a shame for him to crash before the race even starts.”

But Luke, confident as ever, shuts them down with a simple reply:

“I was the best pilot in Mos Eisley. And I’m the only one of us who’s actually seen a podrace. I know what I’m doing.”

Even thrown into something as wild and deadly as a podrace, Luke proved he wasn’t just some lucky kid — he had real flying instincts that kept him alive, no matter what he was up against.

In A New Hope, Luke Repeatedly Proves He’s a Skilled Pilot

Even before he steps into an X-Wing, A New Hope quietly sets up that Luke Skywalker was already a talented pilot — and it doesn’t just tell us once and forget about it. It’s something the story reinforces several times, building up the idea that Luke had the instincts long before the Force fully awakened in him.

The first hint comes early, right after Luke meets Obi-Wan Kenobi. When Obi-Wan tries to convince Luke to join him on a mission to Alderaan, he casually drops a line that says everything you need to know:

“He was the best star-pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I understand you’ve become quite a good pilot yourself.”

This wasn’t just empty flattery. Obi-Wan knew Luke’s reputation — he had grown up hearing about Luke’s skills in the local settlements and knew that Luke wasn’t just a reckless kid buzzing his speeder around moisture farms.

Later, when they meet Han Solo in the Mos Eisley Cantina, Luke once again shows his confidence. After Han brags about needing a great pilot to handle the Millennium Falcon, Luke doesn’t back down. He shoots right back:

“You bet I could. I’m not such a bad pilot myself.”

On Tatooine, surviving high-speed canyon runs wasn’t just fun — it was survival training.

Flying through rough terrain, making split-second decisions, and targeting fast-moving objects like womp rats made Luke into the kind of pilot you could actually trust when things got messy.

And when the Rebels are scrambling pilots to attack the Death Star, Luke gets the biggest endorsement of all. His old friend Biggs Darklighter, who had joined the Rebel Alliance earlier, personally vouches for him to Red Leader:

“Luke’s the best bush pilot in the Outer Rim territories.”

This matters more than it might seem at first. Biggs wasn’t just talking up an old friend — he was a Rebel pilot with real battlefield experience. His word meant something. In that moment, Biggs is basically telling Red Leader that Luke can be trusted with the fate of the Rebellion hanging in the balance.

And maybe the most important moment comes during the Rebel briefing before the Death Star assault.
When everyone is worried about hitting such a tiny target — the thermal exhaust port — Luke casually shrugs it off with:

“It’s not impossible. I used to bull’s-eye womp rats in my T-16 back home. They’re not much bigger than two meters.”

Luke Earned His Spot in That Trench Run

Luke Skywalker didn’t end up leading part of the Death Star trench run by accident. He had already proven, again and again, that he wasn’t just some farm boy with big dreams. From flying his T-16 through Tatooine’s canyons to pulling off a podrace when no one else could, Luke showed he had the instincts and control that real pilots need.