Aviation Quotes

The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

I don't care what you cover the seats with as long as you cover them with assholes.

Whatever Boelcke told us was taken as Gospel!

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Aviation is for the common man. My goal is to enable everyone to fly. It shouldnt be only for the rich.

I pay those guys to fly, so let them fly. I'll be damned if I'll pay them to just sit there.

I just made a balls of it, old boy. That's all there was to it.

Not all birds can fly. What separates the flyers from the walkers is the ability to take off.

No one regards what is before his feet; we all gaze at the stars.

It's all right if your automobile goes wrong while you are driving it. You can get out in the road and tinker with it. But if your airplane breaks down, you can't sit on a convenient cloud and tinker with that!

With the possible exception of having more pleasing lines to the eye while in flight, the monoplane possesses no material advantage over the biplane.

‎‎‎‎Short of committing murder, negative publicity sells more seats than positive publicity.