Maxim Babenko, a photographer from the North Caucasus, produced a 2016 cinematic series entitled "Russian Fighter Pilots" which provides a look at just what it takes to become a LIEUTENANT (emphasis added) commanding a plane (His Facebook page is
https://www.facebook.com/maximbabenkorussia/).
Moreover, flying a war plane requires a great number of flying hours - something most Russian pilots don't seem to have ( J. Bronk, (4 March 2022). "Is the Russian Air Force Actually Incapable of Complex Air Operations?" Royal United Services Institute. D. Axe, David. "Russian Pilots Have No Choice But To Fly Straight Through Ukraine's Man-Portable Missiles". Forbes).
The fact that "all pilots are at least of colonel rank" is irrelevant. Generals often orchestrate coups but colonels execute them. Colonel is the rank where politics start and is the highest rank with direct command and connection with troops. If the coup attempt fails, lower ranks take the blame. It was Colonel Reza Khan who, in 1921 led the coup that brought the Pahlavi dynasty to power in Iran. The coup that overthrew the Greek monarchy is known as The Colonels Coup. It was a coup led by a colonel that overthrew the Obrenovic dynasty in Serbia in 1902. Putin has been preparing for a palace coup since he came to power, which is why the Federal Security Service (FSB) has been strengthened and why Putin sits so far away from his own officials.
And it was a coup orchestrated by what I believe is called the "siloviki" that led to the downfall of Mikhail Gorbachev and the crumbling of the USSR. Putin, with his KGB background, must be aware of that, as the siloviki still exist. If they feel threatened by this slowly unfolding catastrophe that Putin has unleashed on Russia, who is to say they won't turn on him to protect themselves and their families?
And if Putin wasn't afraid of an air strike, what was he afraid of - a little rain? In previous years, if bad weather was an issue, Putin has dispatched a fleet of 'weather-changing' aircraft to spike the clouds with a chemical cocktail of silver iodide, liquid nitrogen and dry ice to ensure rain stayed away from Red Square - but not on this Monday!