Aviation Quotes · Page 21

Air Power is, above all, a psychological weapon - and only short-sighted soldiers, too battle-minded, underrate the importance of psychological factors in…

— B. H. Liddell Hart

If the pilots were in charge, Columbus would still be in port. They believe the assertion that the world is flat.

— Robert Crandall

I would recommend a solo flight to all prospective suicides. It tends to make clear the issue of whether one enjoys being…

— T. H. White

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

— Igor Sikorsky

How do you know but ev’ry Bird that cuts the airy way, Is an immense world of delight, clos’d by your senses…

— William Blake

They had bombed London, whether on purpose or not, and the British people and London especially should know that we could hit…

— Winston Churchill

Buddy of mine once told me that he'd rather fly a jet than kiss his girl. Said it gave him more of…

— Jerry O'Connell

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

— Ernest K. Gann

Hereafter, if you should observe an occasion to give your officers and friends a little more praise than is their due, and…

— Benjamin Franklin

There is a world-old controversy that crops up whenever women attempt to enter a new field. Is a woman fit for that…

— Ruth Bancroft Law

Nothing makes a man more aware of his capabilities and of his limitations than those moments when he must push aside all…

— Robert S. Johnson

. . . my pilot pointed to his left front and above, and looking in the direction he pointed, I saw a…

— James McCudden

The way the public sees it is this. If we don't leave, we are idiots. If we do leave but don't succeed…

— Bertrand Piccard

As we got further and further away, it [the Earth] dimished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble,…

— James Irwin

It had never gotten old for him, flying. Never gone boring. Every engine start was a new adventure, guiding the spirit of…

— Richard Bach

The sky over London was glorious, ochre and madder, as though a dozen tropic suns were simultaneously setting round the horizon .…

— Evelyn Waugh

Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly! O grave! where is thy victory? O death! where is thy sting?

— Alexander Pope

It's hard to replace the gray matter that is inherent in every human being. No computer can do it quite that well…

— John P. Jumper

There are pilots and there are pilots; with the good ones, it is inborn. You can't teach it. If you are a…

— Robin Olds

Of course risk is part of spaceflight. We accept some of that to achieve greater goals in exploration and find out more…

— Lisa Nowak

It occurred to me that if I did not handle the crash correctly, there would be no survivors.

— Richard Leakey

We thought humble and proud at the same time, all at once in love again with this painful bittersweet lovely thing called…

— Richard Bach

There has always been a certain romanticism associated with the airline business. We must avoid its perpetuation at Eastern at all costs.

— Frank Borman

In our dreams we are able to fly . . . and that is a remembering of how we were meant to be.

— Madeleine L'Engle

In the early days of aviation, there was a great deal of experimentation and a high death rate.

— Elon Musk

I didn't know a lot about Amelia before I started flying. And as a woman and a pilot, I should have known…

— Linda Finch

There are a lot of people who say that bombing cannot win the war. My reply to that is that it has…

— Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet

The Air Corps . . . does not, at this time, feel justified in obligating . . . funds for basic jet propulsion research and experimentation.

— George Brett

Muhammad Ali: Superman Don't need no seat belt. Flight Attendant: Superman Don't need no airplane, either.

— Clifton Fadiman

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

— Carl Sagan

Air control can be established by superiority in numbers, by better employment, by better equipment, or by a combination of these factors.

— Carl Andrew Spaatz

The weird thing is that I hate to fly, and the quote that I give people is that every time I get…

— Barry Sonnenfeld

Bishop Wilkins prophesied that the time would come when gentlemen, when they were to go on a journey, would call for their…

— Maria Edgeworth

After about 30 minutes I puked all over my airplane. I said to my self, "Man, you made a big mistake."

— Chuck Yeager

I was struck by the joy of those pilots in committing coldblooded murder . . . Frankly, this is not cojones. This is cowardice.

— Madeleine Albright

Do there exist many worlds, or is there but a single world? This is one of the most noble and exalted questions…

— Albertus Magnus

Any pilot can describe the mechanics of flying. What it can do for the spirit of man is beyond description.

— Barry Goldwater

I'm an Air Force officer first, a pilot second and then Nicole. The female part is last. . . . My job…

— Nicole Malachowski

The 20th Century was the century of Aviation and the century of Globalization. The next century will be the century of Space.

— Wilson Greatbatch

Whenever competition is feasible it is, for all its imperfections, superior to regulation as a means of serving the public interest.

— Alfred Kahn