History Main / GuyInBack

They may be called the Radar Intercept Officer ("Rio"), the Tail Gunner, the Navigator or the Weapons Systems Officer ("Whizzo"). However, they all do the same job, acting as a MissionControl in the back seat (or sometimes in the right hand side seat) of the AcePilot's own fighter or attack aircraft. They don't usually fly the aircraft (they're often not qualified to), but instead notify their boss of approaching fighters, surface-to-air missiles etc. Having an extra pair of eyes helps a lot. They also help in more technical matters such as attending to the vehicle's operational systems, freeing up the pilot to concentrate on piloting and combat.

** SBD Dauntless, as shown on the page image

* In 'TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' and the spin-off air combat game ''Aeronautica Imperialis'', several planes have guys in back.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/Midway2019 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midway_mid_bajo_vfx_05_r2_rgb.jpg]] ]]

* ''Film/TopGunMaverick''

* In ''Film/BlueThunder'' Roy Scheider's rear-seat guy in the eponymous super-copter is nicknamed "Jafo" for "Just A Fuckin' Observer." The nickname becomes a plot point later in the film.

* In ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'' this is Dom's usual job, handling the computers and monitoring systems (the eponymous helicopter could be flown solo if needed), although Caitlin and Archangel also did it on occasions.

* Several ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' aircraft have obvious RIO's, including the Tomcat, Phantom and Tornado. However, the [=RIOs=] on all sides are never mentionned and everybody acts as if they're not here despite plane models clearly showing two (or four, in the case of the [=EA-6B=]) people inside; something especially jarring as two of the games have two-seaters as their star plane (the [=F-14A=] and [=F-15E=]). Some cases like [[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar Bartlett]] ([=F-4G=]) and [[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown Mihaly]] ([=Su-30SM=]) are justified; the former mostly flies as instructor during training exercices and thus doesn't need to fly at full potential, the latter [[OldMaster doesn't even need one to fly at full potential]] and so has his RIO replaced [[spoiler: by flight data recording equipment for Erusea's drone AI]].

** Bob and Fanboy are Weapon Systems Officers sitting behind Phoenix and Payback, respectively. Unlike the previous film — where the RIOs were mostly another set of eyes — this one tries to show how backseaters monitor aircraft systems, operate weapons, and advise their pilots. [[spoiler:Later, Rooster sits in the backseat of an F-14 and sees how complicated his father's job was while Maverick acknowledges that he is largely unfamiliar with what Goose needed to do in his specialist role.]]

* ''Film/TopGunMaverick'' reveals that among other shenanigans, "Maverick" was busted for taking his [[FirstGirlWins ultimate]] love interest [[TheGeneralsDaughter Penny Benjamin]] joyriding.... in the back of an F-18 fighter jet. [[RefugeInAudacity More than once.]] The film ends with him taking her flying again, this time in his own personal vintage P-51 Mustang.

* Until the rise of modern electronics and glass cockpits, commercial planes had a *third* officer in the cabin, the flight engineer. This officer would sit to the rear of the two pilots, facing outboard, and would monitor the aircraft's various electrical and fluid systems.

This insolence will be noted!

* In ''LightNovel/MuvLuvAlternativeTotalEclipse'', the Scarlet Twins's SU-37UB Terminator is specially set up so the two can work together, with Cryska being the "Chick in Back" for the smaller Inia.