Aviation Quotes

Aviation Quote of the day

The Americans cannot build aeroplanes. They are very good at refrigerators and razor blades.

At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation.

You've got to expect things are going to go wrong. And we always need to prepare ourselves for handling the unexpected.

I want to be remembered for only one thing: my contribution to aviation.

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

As soon as we left the ground, I knew I had to fly.

Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed I would do something important in aviation.

If you want to grow old as a pilot, you've got to know when to push it, and when to back off.

See, decide, attack, reverse.

I refused to take no for an answer.

Aviation is proof that given, the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible.

There are pilots and there are pilots; with the good ones, it is inborn. You can't teach it. If you are a fighter pilot, you have to be willing to take risks.

It is as though we have grown wings, which thanks to Providence, we have learnt to control.

I am going to have a cup of tea, like any good Englishman.

I was sold on flying as soon as I had a taste for it.

I put the sweat of my life into this project, and if it's a failure, I'll leave the country and never come back.

A modern, autonomous, and thoroughly trained Air Force in being at all times will not alone be sufficient, but without it there can be no national security.

I ask people who don't fly, "How can you not fly when you live in a time in history when you can fly?"

Keep thy airspeed up, less the earth come from below and smit thee.

If he is superior then I would go home, for another day that is better.

Can the magic of flight ever be carried by words? I think not.

We actually are waiting for more people to be killed before we can do something that makes sense. We don't kill enough people in aviation to merit regulatory changes.

I've never known an industry that can get into people's blood the way aviation does.

You can't imagine a world, quite frankly, without a safe and secure aviation system. And so our job is to really focus on that, and what we need to do to keep it safe and secure.

If we lose the war in the air we lose the war and lose it quickly.

Go in close, and when you think you are too close, go in closer.

Aviation is poetry ... It's the finest kind of moving around, you know, just as poetry is the finest way of using words.

The helicopter appeared so reluctant to fly forward that we even considered turning the pilot's seat around and letting it fly backward.

It was my view that no kill was worth the life of a wingman. . . . Pilots in my unit who lost wingmen on this basis were prohibited from leading a [section]. The were made to fly as wingman, instead.

Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we play for keeps.

Instrument flying is an unnatural act probably punishable by God.

This book is dedicated to all those who fell by the airside, for nothing is wasted, and every apparent failure is but a challenge to others.

Nobody who gets too damned relaxed builds up much flying time.

The country will some day pay for the stupidities of those who were in the majority on this commission. They know as much about the future of aviation as they do about the sign writing of the Aztecs.

To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the sky is home.

Whatever Boelcke told us was taken as Gospel!

Who was the best pilot I ever saw? You're lookin' at 'im.

Sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you are.

Everything in the air that is beneath me, especially if it is a one seater . . . is lost, for it cannot shoot to the rear.

The wish to be able to fly is to be understood as nothing else than a longing to be capable of sexual performance.

If you don't like what you see, stop looking.

The emergencies you train for almost never happen. It's the one you can't train for that kills you.

Nothing said I had to crash.

The important thing in aeroplanes is that they shall be speedy.

I can cure your men of walking off the [flight] program. Let's put on the girls.

You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.

Ah hell. We had more fun in a week than those weenies had in a lifetime.

There are a lot of parallels between what we're doing and an expensive watch. It's very complex, has a lot of parts and it only has value when it's predictable and reliable.

Mistakes are inevitable in aviation, especially when one is still learning new things. The trick is to not make the mistake that will kill you.

Only one military organization can hold and gain ground in war-a ground army supported by tactical aviation with supply lines guarded by the navy.