Ernest K. Gann

Flying is hypnotic and all pilots are willing victims to the spell.

— Ernest K. Gann

Fear breeds upon itself because it is a hermaphrodite capable of endless reproduction. Fear is a contagious disease, spreading from its first…

— Ernest K. Gann

MaCleod, since you've flown the SeaBee a lot you'll understand when I say it was the only airplane I ever owned that…

— Ernest K. Gann

There is no more alluring airspace in the world than the slit up a China girl's dress.

— Ernest K. Gann

As the years go by, he returns to this invisible world rather than to earth for peace and solace. There also he…

— Ernest K. Gann

“Those ever more frequent nights when his loneliness became unbearable and he took solace in wine he would sometimes stand outside his…

— Ernest K. Gann

Flying is hypnotic and all pilots are victims to the spell. Their world is like a magic island in which the factors…

— Ernest K. Gann

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

— Ernest K. Gann

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

— Ernest K. Gann

The men in this book are fictitious characters but their counterparts can be found in cockpits all over the world. Now they…

— Ernest K. Gann

Rule books are paper - they will not cushion a sudden meeting of stone and metal.

— Ernest K. Gann

It doesn't look nearly as big as it did the first time I saw one. Mickey McGuire and I used to sit…

— Ernest K. Gann

During this period Steen and Fox were killed trying a single-engine instrument approach at Moline. Then Campbell and Leatherman hit a ridge…

— Ernest K. Gann

The air is annoyingly potted with a multitude of minor vertical disturbances which sicken the passengers and keep us captives of our…

— Ernest K. Gann

It's when things are going just right that you'd better be suspicious. There you are, fat as can be. The whole world…

— Ernest K. Gann

It's remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.

— Ernest K. Gann

There are airmen and there are pilots: the first being part bird whose view from aloft is normal and comfortable, a creature…

— Ernest K. Gann

I want a boat that drinks 6, eats 4, and sleeps 2.

— Ernest K. Gann

And he supposed it might not be the best of days. But then, he was flying the mails and was not expected…

— Ernest K. Gann

I am drawn to the new chart with all of its colorful intricacies as a gourmet must anticipate the details of a…

— Ernest K. Gann

He knew that we gave constant lip service to the dictates of safety and howled like Christians condemned to the arena if…

— Ernest K. Gann

Are we lost, or are we found at last? On earth we strive for our various needs, because so goes the fundamental…

— Ernest K. Gann

Electronics were rascals, and they lay awake nights trying to find some way to screw you during the day. You could not…

— Ernest K. Gann

If we slide into one of those rare moments of military honesty, we realize that the technical demands of modern warfare are…

— Ernest K. Gann

There are two kinds of airplanes - those you fly and those that fly you . . . You must have a…

— Ernest K. Gann