Pilot Sayings

"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 and the driver asks "What happened?"
The pilot's reply: "I don't know, I just  got here myself!" - Attributed to Ray Crandell
(Lockheed test pilot)