Aviation is full of adventure, excitement and wonder. Aviation enthusiasts have a way of expressing those emotions and feelings in some remarkable sayings. Some aviation sayings are safety related, some are procedural and some are just plain fun!
Below are some of the best! Please add to the list and share your favorite aviation sayings. Listed in no particular order. If you know who originated any of these comment below. Disclaimer! We do not guarantee the accuracy of these quotes or who actually said them!
- No matter what else happens, fly the airplane
- Aviate, Navigate, Communicate
- Flying is hours of boredom, punctuated by moments of stark terror
- Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing
- Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death …I Shall Fear No Evil . For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing
- If something hasn’t broken on your helicopter, it’s about to
- The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down. – General Chuck Yeager, USAF
- If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger, if you pull the stick back they get smaller
- If something hasn’t broken on your helicopter, it’s about to
- Helicopters don’t fly. They beat the air into submission
- If you ain’t cheating, your not trying (air-to-air combat)
- Airspeed is life
- IFR: I Follow Roads
- How low can you go
- There are no new ways to crash airplanes
- To err is human, to forgive is divine; neither of which is Air Force policy
- Flying is not dangerous; crashing is dangerous
- If you’re faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible. – Bob Hoover
- You’ve never been lost until you’ve been lost at Mach 3. – Paul F. Crickmore
Add your favorite sayings below!
Photo of General Chuck Yeager by ChuckYeager.com
Featured image of Test Pilot Joe Walker and the X-1A by NASA on the Commons