Military and civil aviation truisms
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:23 pmProlly BPB but what the ****
"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
"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."
"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."
"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."
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!
"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
"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."
"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."
"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."
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!
