"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire
when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's
left of your unit."--Army's magazine of preventive
maintenance.
"Aim towards the Enemy."
--Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher
"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
--U.S. Marine Corps
"Cluster bombing from B-52s are very, very accurate. The
bombs are
guaranteed to always hit the ground."
--USAF Ammo Troop
"If the enemy is in range, so are you."
--Infantry Journal
"It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area
you just bombed."--U.S. Air Force Manual
"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously
never
encountered automatic weapons."
--General Douglas MacArthur
"Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo."
--Infantry Journal
"You, you, and you ... Panic. The rest of you, come
with me."--U.S. Marine Corp Gunnery Sergeant.
"Tracers work both ways."--U.S. Army
Ordnance
"Five second fuses only last three seconds."
--Infantry Journal
"Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last, and don't
ever volunteer to do anything."--U.S. Navy Swabbie
"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid."
--David Hackworth
"If your attack is going too well, your walking into an
ambush."--Infantry Journal
"No combat-ready unit has ever passed inspection."
--Joe Gay
"Any ship can be a minesweeper ... once."
--Anonymous Sailor
"Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do."
--Unknown Marine Recruit
"Don't draw fire; it irritates the people around you."
--Your Buddies
"If you see a bomb technician running, follow him."
--USAF Ammo Troop
"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death ... I Shall Fear No
Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."--At
the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena AFB, Japan
"You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3."
--Paul F. Crickmore (test pilot)
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on
fire."
--USMC Fighter Pilot
"Blue water Navy truism: There are more planes in the ocean
than submarines in the sky."--From an old carrier
sailor
"The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can
just barely kill you."--Attributed to Max Stanley
(Northrop test pilot)
"A pilot who doesn't have any fear probably isn't flying
his plane to its maximum."--Jon McBride,
astronaut
"If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as
far into the crash as possible."--Bob Hoover
(renowned aerobatic and test pilot)
"There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in
peacetime."--Sign over squadron ops desk at
Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970
As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental
aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the
crash truck arrives,the rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks "What
happened?". The pilot's reply: "I don't know, I just got here myself!"
--Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)
One Liners
"If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's
probably a helicopter and therefore, unsafe."
"When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always
have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash."
"Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than
you."
"What is the similarity between air traffic controllers
and pilots? If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; If ATC screws up, .... the
pilot dies.
"Never trade luck for skill."
."Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers."
."Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to
successfully complete the flight."
"A smooth landing is mostly luck; two in a row is all luck;
three in a row is prevarication."
"Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one
up there!"
"Flashlights are tubular metal containers kept in a flight
bag for the purpose of storing dead batteries."
"Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your
plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing
anything about it."
"When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was
forgotten."
."Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your
funeral will be held on a sunny day."
Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII: "When a prang
(crash) seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in
the vicinity as slow and gently as possible."
"If something hasn't broken on your helicopter, it's about
to."
Basic Flying Rules: "Try to stay in the middle of the air.
Do not go near the edges of it. The edges of the air can be recognized by
the appearance of ground, buildings, sea, trees and interstellar space. It
is much more difficult to fly there."
"You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it
takes full power to taxi to the terminal."
Posted March 17, 2005
Updated