Use former pilot, nervously (7)
I believe the answer is:
exploit
'use' is the definition.
(exploiting is a kind of using)
'former pilot nervously' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'ex'.
'nervously' indicates an anagram.
'pilot' is an anagram of 'ploit'.
'ex'+'ploit'='EXPLOIT'
(Other definitions for exploit that I've seen before include "Heroic feat" , "Fleece?" , "Bunk" , "Make good or selfish use of" , "Take unfair advantage of" .)