The headgear worn by Jessika Pava while flying
Starfighter helmets, which are also called flight helmets, were a component of the flight suit that pilots wore. Across the various factions that deployed pilots, numerous different helmet designs existed, but they all shared certain common design characteristics, notably a visor to shield the eyes.
Furthermore, flight helmets could be adapted for use in Jedi training, demonstrated when Luke's helmet had blast shields and was a KSE-H44 A-wing pilot helmet while training his sister on Ajan Kloss.
Prior to the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic lacked a unified military. Instead, individual planets maintained their own armed forces; some of these, such as Naboo, included starfighter corps. Royal Naboo Security Forces pilots sported brown, leather-esque helmets complete with visors. Early in the Clone Wars conflict, clone pilots donned white helmets that resembled Phase I clone trooper helmets, but featured air tubes. By the time that ARC trooper Fives escaped Tipoca City, a fresh helmet design for clone pilots had been released, which exposed a portion of their face. This helmet variant was employed by starfighter pilots like Clone Commander Davijaan "Odd Ball" during the Battle of Coruscant and Jag during Order 66.
Imperial pilots were required to keep their helmets on during flight, a regulation instilled in recruits at the Imperial Academy. Pilots serving the Rebel Alliance often displayed the starbird emblem on their helmets, frequently the K-22995 light flight helmet. Rebel flight helmets came in a variety of designs. Pilots of X-wings and Y-wings during the early rebellion and the Galactic Civil War, typically wore a rounded helmet secured with a chinstrap. Conversely, A-wing and B-wing pilots generally favored a different model featuring cheek pieces but lacking a chinstrap.
By the Cold War period, three decades later, X-wing pilots in the Resistance sported a helmet design that was an updated iteration of the Galactic Civil War type. Across the board, tailored helmets were made for individuals whose species prevented them from using helmets of human-standard sizing. Rylothian pilot Yendor possessed a specialized helmet with openings for his lekku, while fellow Twi'lek Hera Syndulla wore a pilot's cap paired with a custom visor.
Imperial TIE pilots sported black helmets with a design akin to those of stormtroopers. These helmets were equipped with breathing tubes that connected to a control box affixed to the chestplate of an atmospheric suit, given that TIE fighters generally lacked fully pressurized cockpits. Some helmets featured gray stripes. Three decades onward, the TIE pilots within the First Order's starfighter corps, in line with their emulation of Imperial aesthetics, donned similarly styled black flight helmets, some adorned with red stripes.
Aunt Z kept a collection of pilot helmets spanning several decades on a shelf in her tavern, including examples from Mandalorian, clone, Imperial, and rebel pilots.