# Colette Hiller - the pilot in "Aliens" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030 "2004-04-26T04:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/1 "2004-04-26T04:28:40Z")
Remember her ? I was just wondering if anyone else found her rather attractive and sexy. I don’t think I’m the only one. Okay, any **Colette Hiller** fans out there? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/2 "2004-04-26T10:38:31Z")
Why, were you thinking about getting in the pipe, five by five? Well, maybe nine by two. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/3 "2004-04-26T11:27:21Z")
Given the chance, would you make her call you Spunkmeyer too? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/4 "2004-04-26T15:38:15Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > …in the pipe, five by five… I’ve been waiting forever to quote that and someone beats me to it dammit. Dunno why this phrase has stuck in my head - it’s not as obvious a quote as ‘…it’s the only way to be sure’ or ‘…put her in charge’ or ‘…for a percentage’ etc. Maybe I did fancy her? Goes off to google Colette Hiller… ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/5 "2004-04-26T16:50:45Z")
**SmallClanger** There’s not much information available on Colette Hiller. _Unless_, you were talking about something else when you said you were going to “google” Colette Hiller. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/6 "2004-04-26T21:11:08Z")
> [@Small Clanger](#): > > I’ve been waiting forever to quote that and someone beats me to it dammit. Dunno why this phrase has stuck in my head - . Maybe you played a lot of Starcraft? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/7 "2004-05-02T05:23:14Z")
Since **“Aliens”** is being shown a lot on cable lately - here’s another good Corporal Ferro (aka Colette Hiller) quote: “Rough air ahead … going over some chop.” ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/8 "2004-05-02T05:40:48Z")
Well, according to her [imdb page](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0384876/), you can contact her agent. So not only might she still be working, but it’s possible you could ask for her autograph, too. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/9 "2004-05-02T06:25:01Z")
**Ranchoth** Thanks for the suggestion. However, I’m not _that_ overboard about her. It’s just that I was wondering if there were any other fans of hers out there. Well, I guess there’s a few. ---
**Author:** ![jnocook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@jnocook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnocook)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/10 "2013-03-08T01:10:05Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Remember her ? I was just wondering if anyone else found her rather attractive and sexy. I don’t think I’m the only one. > Okay, any **Colette Hiller** fans out there? I think she’s soooo HOT! ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/11 "2013-03-08T02:27:51Z")
Actually, I hated that part of Aliens. Cameron was awkwardly forcing his hand saying LOOK it’s the FUTURE see how progressive it is that we have a WOMAN pilot who can jabber in PILOT SLANG. No shit, James, you’re movie already has Ripley and her character is a 100x more subtle - well until you inherited her and and made the entire third act \*overtly \*about motherhood. Also, Hiller seemed inauthentic in the role. It was probably the oversized aviators and/or undersized head – like a girl playing pilot dress up. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/12 "2013-03-08T03:10:23Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > No shit, James, you’re movie already has Ripley and her character is a 100x more subtle Of course this is the same guy who had to make it blatantly obvious in _The Terminator_ that Kyle was John’s father. (And the girls sitting in front of me at the cinema had not made the connection until Cameron made it so obvious. :rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/13 "2013-03-08T03:34:10Z")
I admire the OP’s sincerity. I might just start my own thread, but for Alice Henley. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/14 "2013-03-08T04:19:47Z")
Huh, this thread must’ve drifted through the core systems… ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/15 "2013-03-08T04:39:23Z")
Probable brain fart here…but what does “in the pipe, five by five” mean? And yeah, I thought she was/is pretty cute. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/16 "2013-03-08T04:54:13Z")
“Five by five” is a reference to military communications, where an operator would report (on a scale of one-to-five) the strength of a signal (1 - weak, 5 - loud) and it’s clarity (1- garbled, 5 - clear). Later on, it was just easier to say “Loud and clear”. In this case, it’s an expression for smooth sailing. “In the pipe” means they’re following their intended flightpath. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/17 "2013-03-08T14:30:30Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Actually, I hated that part of Aliens. Cameron was awkwardly forcing his hand saying LOOK it’s the FUTURE see how progressive it is that we have a WOMAN pilot who can jabber in PILOT SLANG. No shit, James, you’re movie already has Ripley and her character is a 100x more subtle - well until you inherited her and and made the entire third act \*overtly \*about motherhood. > > Also, Hiller seemed inauthentic in the role. It was probably the oversized aviators and/or undersized head – like a girl playing pilot dress up. Jeez, you’ve been waiting nearly _nine years_ to vent that?! 😃 I think Hiller more than made up for any deficiencies with her final moments, when she turns around and sees an Alien coming, she doesn’t scream or shriek or faint like a helpless woman, she immediately goes for her sidearm and almost survives!! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/18 "2013-03-08T15:36:53Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Actually, I hated that part of Aliens. Cameron was awkwardly forcing his hand saying LOOK it’s the FUTURE see how progressive it is that we have a WOMAN pilot who can jabber in PILOT SLANG. Yeah, he was soooo up to date, stealing it from a 1958 Heinlein novel, too. (Along with most of the rest of the movie.) ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/19 "2013-03-08T17:23:19Z")
I have to go through two massive, multi-lane, traffic-light controlled roundabouts on the way home from school every day – and on the rare occasions when I manage to hit green lights all the way through both (a very rare day if you don’t time it just right and there are no other traffic issues), I will say, ‘We’re in the pipe, five by five.’ I used to say it when I managed to get all the way a fairly long stretch of Route 896 S in Delaware and hit all the lights on green, too (especially as getting stuck at all the red lights made a 15 minute journey nearly an hour in heavy traffic). That said, I find Hudson’s fine selection of dialogue far more useful for so many every day situations. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030/20 "2013-03-08T17:30:07Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Remember her ? I was just wondering if anyone else found her rather attractive and sexy. I don’t think I’m the only one. > Okay, any **Colette Hiller** fans out there? I’m going to bet that you can count Joss Whedon as a fan… 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colette-hiller-the-pilot-in-aliens/242030.md?page=2)