Aviation Axioms
There are Rule and there are Laws. The Rules are made by men who think that they know how to fly your airplane better than you. The Laws (of Physics) were made by the Great One. You can, and sometimes should, suspend the Rules but you can never suspend the Laws.
More about Rules:
- The rules are a good place to hide if you don't have a better idea and the talent to execute it.
- If you deviate from a rule, it must be a flawless performance. (e.g. if you fly under a bridge, don't hit the bridge.)
The pilot is the highest form of life on earth.
The ideal pilot is the perfect blend of discipline and aggressiveness.
He who demands everything that his aircraft can give him is a pilot; he that demands one iota more is a fool.
If you're gonna fly low, do not fly slow!
It is solely the pilot's responsibility to never let any other thing touch his aircraft.
Remember when flying low and inverted that the rudder still works the same old way but hopefully your IP never taught you "pull stick back, plane go up".
The aircraft G-limits are only there in case there is another flight by that particular airplane. If subsequent flights by that aircraft do not appear likely, there are no G-limits.
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.
The propeller is just a big fan in front of the airplane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.
Stay out of the clouds. The silver lining everyone is talking about might just be another airplane traveling in the other direction.
You start out with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before emptying the bag of luck.
There are three simple rules of making smooth landings. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
from the AMA National Newsletter, November 2003, page 6.
Takeoff's are optional. Landings are mandatory.
If God meant man to fly, he'd have given him more money.
If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger, if you pull the stick back they get smaller. (Unless you keep pulling the stick back -then they get bigger again)
Flying is not dangerous - crashing is dangerous.
It's better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here.
The propeller is just a big fan in the front of the plane to keep the pilot cool. Want proof? Make it stop; then watch the pilot break out into a sweat.
Speed is life, altitude is life insurance. No one has ever collided with the sky.
It's best to keep the pointed end going forward as much as possible.
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.
Every one already knows the definition of a 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. But very few know the definition of a 'great landing.' It's one after which you can use the airplane another time.
The probability of survival is equal to the angle of arrival.
Always remember you fly an airplane with your head, not your hands. Never let an airplane take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.
You know you've landed with the wheels up when it takes full power to taxi.
Those who hoot with the owls by night, should not fly with the eagles by day.
A helicopter is a collection of rotating parts going round and round and reciprocating parts going up and down - all of them trying to become random in motion. Helicopters can't really fly - they're just so ugly that the earth immediately repels them.
Young man, was that a landing or were we shot down?
Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.
Trust your captain .... but keep your seat belt securely fastened.
Any pilot who relies on a terminal forecast can be sold the Brooklyn Bridge. If he relies on winds-aloft reports he can be sold Niagara Falls.
Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.
Aviation is not so much a profession as it is a disease.
There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing: Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
The only thing worse than a captain who never flew as copilot is a copilot who once was a captain.
Be nice to your first officer, he may be your captain at your next airline.
Any attempt to stretch fuel is guaranteed to increase headwind.
A thunderstorm is never as bad on the inside as it appears on the outside. It's worse.
Son, I was flying airplanes for a living when you were still in liquid form.
It's easy to make a small fortune in aviation. You start with a large fortune.
A male pilot is a confused soul who talks about women when he's flying, and about flying when he's with a woman.
A fool and his money are soon flying more airplane than he can handle.
Remember, you're always a student in an airplane.
Keep looking around; there's always something you've missed.
Try to keep the number of your landings equal to the number of your takeoffs.
You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.
There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold, pilots!
Things which do you no good in aviation: Altitude above you. Runway behind you. Fuel in the truck. Half a second ago. Approach plates in the car. The airspeed you don't have.
Flying is the perfect vocation for a man who wants to feel like a boy, but not for one who still is.
Asking what a pilot thinks about the FAA is like asking a fireplug what it thinks about dogs.
Being an airline pilot would be great if you didn't have to go on all those trips.
Gravity never loses! The best you can hope for is a draw!
Aviation Wisdom
R/C flying can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle.
Keep the aeroplane in such an attitude that the air pressure is directly in the pilot's face. - Horatio C. Barber, 1916
When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was forgotten. - Robert Livingston, 'Flying The Aeronca
The only time an aircraft has too much fuel on board is when it is on fire. - Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, before his death in the 1920's
Flexible is much too rigid, in aviation you have to be fluid. - Verne Jobst
If you can't afford to do something right, then be darn sure you can afford to do it wrong. - Charlie Nelson
Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be held on a sunny day. - Layton A. Bennett
I hope you either take up parachute jumping or stay out of single motored airplanes at night. - Charles Lindbergh, to Wiley Post, 1931
Never fly the 'A' model of anything. - Ed Thompson
Never fly anything that doesn't have the paint worn off the rudder Pedals. - Harry Bill
Keep thy airspeed up, less the earth come from below and smit thee. - William Kershner
When a prang seems inevitable, endeavour to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity, as slowly and gently as possible. - advice given to RAF pilots during W.W.II.
Instrument flying is when your mind gets a grip on the fact that there is vision beyond sight. - U.S. Navy 'Approach' magazine circa W.W.II.
Always keep an 'out' in your hip pocket. - Bevo Howard
The 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
It occurred to me that if I did not handle the crash correctly, there would be no survivors. - Richard Leakey, after single engine failure in Nairobi, Africa, 1993.
If an airplane is still in one piece, don't cheat on it. Ride the bastard down. - Ernest K. Gann, advice from the 'old pelican'
Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death I Shall Fear No Evil For I am 80,000 feet and Climbing. - sign on SR-71 Operations at Kadena AB, Okinawa
You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3. - Paul F. Crickmore,
The emergencies you train for almost never happen. It's the one you can't train for that kills you. - Ernest K. Gann
If you want to grow old as a pilot, you've got to know when to push it, and when to back off. - Chuck Yeager
Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you. - Richard Herman Jr, 'Firebreak'
There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime. - Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970.
An airplane might disappoint any pilot but it'll never surprise a good one. - Len Morgan
We all start out with two Bags. One is a Bag full of Luck and the other is an empty Bag of Experience. The trick is to fill the Bag of Experience before you empty the Bag of Luck.
To most people, the Sky is the Limit. To those who love Aviation, the Sky is Home.
