"Yea though I fly through the valley of the shadow 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 messes up, the pilot dies; if an ATC messes up, ... The
pilot dies."
"Never trade luck for skill."
"Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers."
"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. "
"Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up
there."
"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 rainy day."
Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII: "When a plane crash seems
inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the
vicinity as slowly 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 scene as possible."
- Bob Hoover (renowned aerobatic and test pilot)
"Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you."
"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."
As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having
torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck
arrives, the rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks "What happened?"
The pilot's reply: "I don't know, I just got here myself!"
- Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)
