Aviation Quotes

[HuggyU2]

Is it the same Jerry Caddick that crashed during the El Toro Airshow back around '88?

Edited February 8, 2009 by Huggyu2

[Guest Dunce]

Thanks a lot Hoss. Thats the one.

[Steve Davies]

I read the following quote in a BBC obit today and thought that a thread in this vein would be cool.

I know that there are some serious history buffs here, but even if the quote is something you heard at work or in the bar, post it anyway.

RAF Wg Cdr and Member of Parliament, Ernest Millington, on being told in 1945 that his DFC ribbon was worn too wide.

"He was, I think, not expecting my reaction. 'If you are talking to me as an RAF officer: stand to attention; take your hand out of your trouser pocket and address a senior officer as Sir. If you are talking to me as a fellow Member of Parliament, mind your business and bugger off.'"

And, perhaps my favourite of all time, the unashamed Hoser Strapa's response to being accused of 'cheating' during the AIMVAL/ACEVAL tests of 1977:

"Hoser, [LtCmdr Joe Strapa] what the hell happened to credibility?"

[with appropriate thumb gestures]"Credibility is down, kill ratio is up!"

[brickhistory]

CDR. John Nethersole, RN/FAA, (ret):

Of these ‘Seafires,’ Nethersole recalled, “Really a lovely little airplane to fly; smelled strongly of petrol when you flew it upside down.”

About transitioning to jets in the Gloster Meteor:

"Delightful, if a bit agricultural"

[JarheadBoom]

I don't have anything particularly quote-worthy, and I'll not cheat by going to Google... so I'll go with the one I remember best, from my days as a young Marine:

"Sit on your hands, Lieutenant. We'll all be better-off that way."

[war007afa]

"Flying is man's second greatest feat. Landing is the first"

"Every takeoff is optional; every landing is not"

One of my engineers: "Sir, I'd love to take off today with a full bag of gas and ammo, but unfortunately we're still waiting on our Physics waiver so we'll have to download one or the other"

[AEWingsMN]

I don't have anything particularly quote-worthy, and I'll not cheat by going to Google... so I'll go with the one I remember best, from my days as a young Marine:

"Sit on your hands, Lieutenant. We'll all be better-off that way."

not at all aviation related, but reminds me of one I had a few years back.

A friend and I were in my car. I was driving and he was dicking with every last control, and it was getting annoying.

Me: "put your hands in your pants and we'll both be happy"

[FourFans]

Psuedo aviation because I've heard four out of five of these while flying on a herc.

The five most dangers things in the Air Force:

5. An Airman saying, "I learned this in Basic."

4. An LT saying, "In my experience."

3. A SSgt saying, "Trust me sir."

2. A Capt saying, "I was thinking."

1. A Chief sitting back and saying, "Watch this sh!t!"

FF

[C130GuardBum]

When I was a young 2 striper loadmaster I had a crusty Chief tell me "dont let these @$$holes kill you"

best advice I have ever been given

[Guest SOF HERK]

The three rules of flying:

1 - Flying is always fun

2 - Always sound cool on the radios

3 - There's never a bad day of flying, just less than optimum

One I tend to use far too often:

"Hope is not a viable course of action"

And my favorites are rule-oriented, but apply equally well to those silly books that gather dust under my desk:

Perhaps the most famous:

Rules?.........They're written for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men.

-Sir Douglas Bader.

Rules can certainly be burdensome and sometimes foolish; but if they are misbegotten they ought to be abolished completely rather than selectively waived. A wise rule should not be applied selectively either.

-The Economist, 28 Jan 1989

My favorite:

It is not recognized that the object of regulations and rules is to produce order in the fighting machine, and not to strangle the mind of the man who controls it.

-J.F.C. Fuller

With the best equipment in the world the man with poor judgement is in mortal danger.

-Royal Robbins

Some favorite safety quotes:

Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world.

— Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden.

What is the cause of most aviation accidents:

Usually it is because someone does too much too soon, followed very quickly by too little too late.

— Steve Wilson, NTSB investigator, Oshkosh, WI , August, 1996.

I'd hate to see an epitaph on a fighter pilot's tombstone that says, "I told you I needed training." . . . How do you train for the most dangerous game in the world by being as safe as possible? When you don't let a guy train because it's dangerous, you're saying, "Go fight those lions with your bare hands in that arena, because we can't teach you to learn how to use a spear. If we do, you might cut your finger while you're learning." And that's just about the same as murder.

— Colonel 'Boots' Boothby, USAF

[Danger41]

One my dad told me when I started my flying career:

"There is nothing more useless in aviation than runway behind you, altitude above you, and fuel on the ground."

[KWings06j]

A few of my favorites from the Helo side...

"A helicopter is a collection of rotating parts going round and round and reciprocating parts going up and down, all of which trying to become random motion"

"If you're in trouble anywhere in the world an airplane can fly over and drop flowers, a helicopter can land and save your sorry arse" - Igor Sikorsky

[Steve Davies]

Thanks for merging this, mods. I did a search for 'aviation quotes', but only in the Squadron Bar forum, hence no results.

[TreeA10]

Here's some more:

https://www.skygod.com/quotes/index.html

[POKESC17]

Psuedo aviation because I've heard four out of five of these while flying on a herc.

The five most dangers things in the Air Force:

5. An Airman saying, "I learned this in Basic."

4. An LT saying, "In my experience."

3. A SSgt saying, "Trust me sir."

2. A Capt saying, "I was thinking."

1. A Chief sitting back and saying, "Watch this sh!t!"

FF

Also known as the Five most dangerous things in the Air Force.

Edited for stupidity and not being able to read while drunk.

Edited May 13, 2009 by POKESC17

[ol-IEWO]

Here's some more:

https://www.skygod.com/quotes/index.html

Great reading for insomnia. Thanks for the link, seriously.

[Guest Unconfirmed Source]

Told to me by my grandfather and has served me well in many years of flying.

"Fuel burns but vapor explodes, if your on fire keep flying the plane."

"Your best option is always the one right in front of you."

"Never walk into a maintenance hanger and see your jet strewn across the floor as you will forever hear creaks and cracks that aren't there."

[Guest SOF HERK]

My grandfather used to say: " Always fly toward the thunderstorms. That way they can't get between you and the field!" He flew in the '20s-60s.

A good friend always said: " Never go fast in the wrong direction!" One I use with studs and CPs when trying to explain the difference between spacing and timing in the radar pattern...

[Guest PerArduaAdAstra]

I don't have anything particularly quote-worthy, and I'll not cheat by going to Google... so I'll go with the one I remember best, from my days as a young Marine:

"Sit on your hands, Lieutenant. We'll all be better-off that way."

This was (allegedly) on a British Army Officer's annual evaluation given to him by his Commanding Officer:

"The men will follow this officer anywhere, even if it is only out of idle curiosity to see what he will do next"

[Toro]

Alson known as the Five most dangerous things in the Air Force.

Good technique when correcting other people's spelling errors is to check your own.

[outbreak]

Technique only.

[sky_king]

Superior pilots use their superior judgement to avoid having to use their superior skill.

[Guest Vat_69]

"Whatever it is you are doing, stop it."

Some of you may remember this one...

"Suck less tomorrow."

Edited May 15, 2009 by Vat_69

[Dead Last]

"Whatever it is you are doing, stop it."

Some of you may remember this one...

"Suck less tomorrow."

Haven't we all heard those when flying with a certain someone...

Not really a direct aviation quote but an Engineer from a previous life told a Co we were flying with... "You must be a new kind of stupid" It took all I had to maintain composure after that statement.

cheers

Edited May 15, 2009 by Dead Last

[JarheadBoom]

"Why is it doing that?"