>I suspect that it's more a generational thing than an occupational one. I've met a couple of test pilots from the '90's and '00's and they were the some of the most by-the-book people I've ever met, they were meticulous and followed their steps precisely, even for quotidian things like making breakfast or pitching a tent.

The people who were test pilots in the 90s were people who succeeded under a system of massive "by the book"-ness.

The cowboys of the 60s don't wind up being successful test pilots in that kind of system.

The organizations changed so the people who succeed in them changed.