--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It doesn't look nearly as big as it did…" description: "\"It doesn't look nearly as big as it did the first time I saw one. Mickey McGuire and I used to sit hour after hour in the cockpit of the one that Ameri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/ernest-k-gann-22818_after-hours_it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did_1406081.jpg" --- # It doesn't look nearly as big as it did the first time I… ![“It doesn't look nearly as big as it did the first time I saw one. Mickey McGuire and I used to sit hour after hour in the cockpit of the one that American used for training, at the company school in Chicago, saying to each other, 'My God, do you think we'll ever learn to fly anything this big?'” quote by Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/ernest-k-gann-22818_after-hours_it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did_1406081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/ernest-k-gann-22818_after-hours_it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did_1406081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/ernest-k-gann-22818_after-hours_it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did_1406081.jpg) > “It doesn't look nearly as big as it did the first time I saw one. Mickey McGuire and I used to sit hour after hour in the cockpit of the one that American used for training, at the company school in Chicago, saying to each other, 'My God, do you think we'll ever learn to fly anything this big?'” [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early pilots were amazed by the massive size of new aircraft, doubting they could ever master such machines. **In simple terms:** Pilots were surprised by huge planes and feared they couldn’t fly them. Key Takeaway Embrace new technology with confidence. Themes aviation innovation learning confidence technology Mood awe uncertainty inspired Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - flight training - aircraft design - pilot education - industry change Key Concepts human factors scale perception technological adaptation Questions to Reflect On - How do you react to unfamiliar scale? - What steps help you build competence? A Different Perspective Size can be intimidating, but skill grows with experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [After hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-hours/) [Aviation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aviation/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Learn to fly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-to-fly/) [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) ## Related quotes > [Me and Cass both hooped when we were youngsters. When I met him, he was not nearly as big as he is now. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enzo-amore/me-and-cass-both-hooped-when-we-were-youngsters-when-i-met-him-he-was/) [Enzo Amore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enzo-amore/) > [I've sung lead on nearly all the big Boney M hits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-mitchell/i-ve-sung-lead-on-nearly-all-the-big-boney-m-hits/) [Liz Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-mitchell/) > [The air is annoyingly potted with a multitude of minor vertical disturbances which sicken the passengers and keep us captives of our seat belts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/the-air-is-annoyingly-potted-with-a-multitude-of-minor-vertical/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 are flying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/the-men-in-this-book-are-fictitious-characters-but-their-counterparts/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [Why does reading freak people out so much? Sure, I could be pretty anti-social when we were on the road, but if I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/why-does-reading-freak-people-out-so-much-sure-i-could-be-pretty-anti/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I wanted to lie hour after hour on a couch, pouring out the dark, secret places of my heart--do this feeling that over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/i-wanted-to-lie-hour-after-hour-on-a-couch-pouring-out-the-dark/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [We're all carnies, though some people are in denial. They want to be above it all, above the mayhem of laughter and people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/we-re-all-carnies-though-some-people-are-in-denial-they-want-to-be/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [What are the sources of an illumination? To me, they come after hours of searching and keeping my soul ready. Yet they come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/what-are-the-sources-of-an-illumination-to-me-they-come-after-hours/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Well, I had an after hours club in Vancouver and when any of the Motown acts would call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-chong/well-i-had-an-after-hours-club-in-vancouver-and-when-any-of-the/) [Tommy Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-chong/) > [“Cultural wisdom says 'Don't quit your day job.' Yet I think these desires represent our psyche's stretch toward wholeness. And to be whole, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/cultural-wisdom-says-don-t-quit-your-day-job-yet-i-think-these/) [Mary Rose O'Reilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-rose-o-reilley/) > [I talk to hundreds of companies a year and spend hour after hour in heady pow-wows with CEOs, financial analysts and my colleagues in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/i-talk-to-hundreds-of-companies-a-year-and-spend-hour-after-hour-in/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) > [Al Capone's my uncle. The old days were a lot different. The Latin Casino was the big time. When I got there I figured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/al-capone-s-my-uncle-the-old-days-were-a-lot-different-the-latin/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [You yourself create all your misery, hour after hour, day after day. You think the goal justifies the means, even the vile means. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-yourself-create-all-your-misery-hour-after-hour-day-after-day-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [There's a whole generation growing up thinking you shouldn't seek knowledge for its own sake, and that theatre and art and books are activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-s-a-whole-generation-growing-up-thinking-you-shouldn-t-seek/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## More by Ernest K. Gann > [Flying is hypnotic and all pilots are willing victims to the spell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/flying-is-hypnotic-and-all-pilots-are-willing-victims-to-the-spell/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 victim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/fear-breeds-upon-itself-because-it-is-a-hermaphrodite-capable-of/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/macleod-since-you-ve-flown-the-seabee-a-lot-you-ll-understand-when-i/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [There is no more alluring airspace in the world than the slit up a China girl's dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/there-is-no-more-alluring-airspace-in-the-world-than-the-slit-up-a/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 finds a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/as-the-years-go-by-he-returns-to-this-invisible-world-rather-than-to/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 tent holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/those-ever-more-frequent-nights-when-his-loneliness-became-unbearable/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/flying-is-hypnotic-and-all-pilots-are-victims-to-the-spell-their/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we play for keeps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/anyone-can-do-the-job-when-things-are-going-right-in-this-business-we/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [The emergencies you train for almost never happen. It's the one you can't train for that kills you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/the-emergencies-you-train-for-almost-never-happen-it-s-the-one-you/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 are flying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/the-men-in-this-book-are-fictitious-characters-but-their-counterparts/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [Rule books are paper - they will not cushion a sudden meeting of stone and metal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/rule-books-are-paper-they-will-not-cushion-a-sudden-meeting-of-stone/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 near Elko,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/during-this-period-steen-and-fox-were-killed-trying-a-single-engine/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 seat belts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/the-air-is-annoyingly-potted-with-a-multitude-of-minor-vertical/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 is yours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/it-s-when-things-are-going-just-right-that-you-d-better-be-suspicious/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [It's remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/it-s-remarkable-how-quickly-a-good-and-favorable-wind-can-sweep-away/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) [Explore all 27 Ernest K. Gann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) ## More After hours quotes > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [There's a whole generation growing up thinking you shouldn't seek knowledge for its own sake, and that theatre and art and books are activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-s-a-whole-generation-growing-up-thinking-you-shouldn-t-seek/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You yourself create all your misery, hour after hour, day after day. You think the goal justifies the means, even the vile means. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-yourself-create-all-your-misery-hour-after-hour-day-after-day-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [Al Capone's my uncle. The old days were a lot different. The Latin Casino was the big time. When I got there I figured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/al-capone-s-my-uncle-the-old-days-were-a-lot-different-the-latin/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [I talk to hundreds of companies a year and spend hour after hour in heady pow-wows with CEOs, financial analysts and my colleagues in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/i-talk-to-hundreds-of-companies-a-year-and-spend-hour-after-hour-in/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) > [“Cultural wisdom says 'Don't quit your day job.' Yet I think these desires represent our psyche's stretch toward wholeness. And to be whole, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/cultural-wisdom-says-don-t-quit-your-day-job-yet-i-think-these/) [Mary Rose O'Reilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-rose-o-reilley/) > [Well, I had an after hours club in Vancouver and when any of the Motown acts would call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-chong/well-i-had-an-after-hours-club-in-vancouver-and-when-any-of-the/) [Tommy Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-chong/) > [What are the sources of an illumination? To me, they come after hours of searching and keeping my soul ready. Yet they come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/what-are-the-sources-of-an-illumination-to-me-they-come-after-hours/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [We're all carnies, though some people are in denial. They want to be above it all, above the mayhem of laughter and people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/we-re-all-carnies-though-some-people-are-in-denial-they-want-to-be/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [I wanted to lie hour after hour on a couch, pouring out the dark, secret places of my heart--do this feeling that over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/i-wanted-to-lie-hour-after-hour-on-a-couch-pouring-out-the-dark/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [Why does reading freak people out so much? Sure, I could be pretty anti-social when we were on the road, but if I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/why-does-reading-freak-people-out-so-much-sure-i-could-be-pretty-anti/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [If you sit kids down, hour after hour, doing low-grade clerical work, don't be surprised if they start to fidget. Children are not, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/if-you-sit-kids-down-hour-after-hour-doing-low-grade-clerical-work/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [I have a scholar's love of silence and solitude. To sit and pass hour after hour in idle chatter with a roomful of strangers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/i-have-a-scholar-s-love-of-silence-and-solitude-to-sit-and-pass-hour/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [The choreographic process is exhausting. It happens on one's feet after hours of work, and the energy required is roughly the equivalent of writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/the-choreographic-process-is-exhausting-it-happens-on-one-s-feet/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [You get into theological education and you're busy marking papers and getting into administration in raising funds and doing all the things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/you-get-into-theological-education-and-you-re-busy-marking-papers-and/) [D. A. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) [Browse all 40 After hours quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-hours/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It doesn't look nearly as big as it did the first time I saw one. Mickey McGuire and I used to sit hour after hour in the cockpit of the one that American used for training, at the company school in Chicago, saying to each other, 'My God, do you think we'll ever learn to fly anything this big?'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest K. Gann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did-the-first-time-i-saw-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "After hours" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did-the-first-time-i-saw-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/ernest-k-gann-22818_after-hours_it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did_1406081.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/ernest-k-gann-22818_after-hours_it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did_1406081.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/ernest-k-gann-22818_after-hours_it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did_1406081.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It doesn't look nearly as big as it did the first time I saw one. Mickey McGuire and I used to sit hour…” — Ernest K. Gann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ernest K. Gann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It doesn't look nearly as big...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did-the-first-time-i-saw-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/it-doesn-t-look-nearly-as-big-as-it-did-the-first-time-i-saw-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```