10 Star Wars "Plot-Holes" That Really Aren't
3. How Is Luke Able To Pilot An X-wing
The Plot-Hole:
How is Luke, a farmboy, able to pilot a starfighter as advanced as an X-wing?
But...
The explanation is a touch esoteric, but it's there all the same. In a deleted scene from A New Hope it is revealed that Luke flew the T-16 Skyhopper, a spacecraft used, according to lore, as a trainer for the the X-wing. The model Luke is playing with in the garage on Tatooine? That is a T-16. The spacecraft visible in the background? The very T-16 in which Luke bulls-eyed Womp Rats in Beggar’s Canyon. Clearly, Luke's statement that he "is not such a bad pilot" is no idle boast.
Consider also that experienced pilots – including the pilot in command of the strike against the Death Star – not only allows Luke to fly the X-wing, but to fly it in combat as part of his squadron, something he would not due if if Luke was clueless.
As for Luke’s convenient combat prowess? With his marksmanship and piloting skills having been established, only one thing remains to be explained – his lack of nerves. But when you remember that only hours before Luke faced down an entire Death Star’s worth of Stormtroopers, four TIE Fighters, never mind the sight of the dreaded battle station itself, one can safely say that the jitters were no longer a problem.