Aviation Truisms

[Guest Thrasher]

Aviation Truisms

 

"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons."

 

- General MacArthur

 

"You, you, and you ... Panic. The rest of you, come with me."

 

- U.S. Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.

 

"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death ... I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."

 

- At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Japan

 

"You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3."

 

- Paul F. Crickmore (test pilot)

 

"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."

 

"Blue water Navy truism: There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky."

 

From an old carrier sailor

 

"If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter -- and therefore, unsafe."

 

"When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash."

 

"Without ammunition, the USAF would be just another expensive flying club."

 

"What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots? If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; If ATC screws up, . the pilot dies."

 

"Never trade luck for skill."

 

The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in aviation are:

 

"Why is it doing that?"

 

"Where are we?"

 

and "OH ****!"

 

"Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers."

 

"Progress in airline flying: now a flight attendant can get a pilot pregnant."

 

Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight."

 

"A smooth landing is mostly luck; two in a row is all luck; three in a row is prevarication."

 

"I remember when sex was safe and flying was dangerous."

 

"Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up there!"

 

"Flashlights are tubular metal containers kept in a flight bag for the purpose of storing dead batteries."

 

"Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it."

 

"When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was forgotten."

 

"Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be held on a sunny day."

 

Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII: "When a prang (crash) seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity as slow and gently as possible."

 

"The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you."

 

- Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot)

 

"A pilot who doesn't have any fear probably isn't flying his plane to its maximum."

 

- Jon McBride, astronaut

 

"If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible."

 

- Bob Hoover (renowned aerobatic and test pilot)

 

"Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you."

 

"There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime."

 

- Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970

 

"If something hasn't broken on your helicopter, it's about to."

 

Basic Flying Rules: "Try to stay in the middle of the air. Do not go near the edges of it. The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of ground, buildings, sea, trees and interstellar space. It is much more difficult to fly there."

 

"You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal."

 

 

[Guest Glenn]

Might have to add some of these to our quotes. Nice one, thanks :)

 

 

[mnewbery]

An aircraft isn't safe until the certifying paperwork weighs more than it does

 

 

[facthunter]

Another last words is " I wonder what this switch does". Nev

 

 

[Manwell]

When you start flying, imagine you have two cups, one empty, and the other full.  The full cup is luck, and the empty, experience.   Your challenge is to fill the cup of experience before the cup of luck runs out.

 

 

[Yenn]

I remember watching Bob Hoover doing just that, but at the time I believe he had several cups of experience in reserve.

 

 

[facthunter]

 

 

 

 

 

  He had cups of coffee he didn't spill while doing barrell rolls while feathering engines  In the aero commander which isn't aerobatic stressed  either. Dunno what that "reveal  hidden contents" thing is about" I'm under gremlin attack..  Nev

 

 

[Thruster88]

I had the pleasure of seeing Bob at Avalon,  not everyone has his skill and understanding of aircraft