From this month’s edition of the Commemorative Air Force’s magazine, a really interesting thought in what is normally the last place to look, a safety article. Under the section about ways to improve safety, it says: “Training isn’t just to fulfil a requirement; it is to make sure each person is comfortable and confident in the task.” Not ±100 feet, or …
Category: Airmanship Quotes
Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown Talks Flying
Legendary Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown was a British Royal Navy test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history. He was the most-decorated pilot in the history of the Royal Navy. Some of his ‘firsts’ include first to land a jet on an aircraft carrier and first to land a twin-engine aircraft on an aircraft …
Awake
The squeak of tires on landing, the view over a ridgeline, the red warning light. When I’m fully awake, I’m flying my best. Quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, online article The Three Gems in Tricycle magazine. Original photo of single-seat sailplane CC0 Public Domain from pxhere.
Woulda Coulda Shoulda
Getting out of the comfort zone is not, well, comfortable. But the views are awesome. George Mallory fought in the Somme, lectured at Cambridge, and may, or may not, have been the first to summit Everest.
With the Automagic off, are You Confident?
With autopilot, autothrottles, flight directors, GPS off — are you practised enough? Really ready? Comfortable? Many experts aren’t sure we are. The accident data is worrying. One test-pilot and astronaut with 60-years of flying experience has spoken out about the adverse side effects of automation. He’s noted that Apollo astronauts practised every procedure with and without automation. “We felt comfortable in …
If You Think Adventure is Dangerous . . .
“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It’s lethal.” Paulo Coelho If you fly a lot it can become routine. And so a whole new danger-zone has to be faced. Preflights, cruise checks, yawn.
Are You in Control?
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a professor of psychology, quoted here from his book Flow. SaveSave
We Should Not Feel . . .
“We should not feel embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow anything beautiful from them.” Alain de Botton The Consolations of Philosophy (2000).
You Can’t Tame the Wave
You can’t tame the wave. All you can do is become part of it. Sebastian Steudtner, big-wave surfer. Article in The Red Bulletin, June 2018. We don’t ‘conquer the sky’. We fly in the air. Beginners think of beating gravity; but the best blend with the weather, groove with gravity, one with the wing. (Original sailplane photo CC0 Public …
The Sky, Like the Sea, is Selective
The sea is selective… slow at recognition of effort and aptitude, but fast at sinking the unfit. Felix Riesenberg The sky and the sea share uncaring ways. Beautiful, but deadly. Rewarding the worthy only with temporary treasures. Original photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash. SaveSave