# Great aviation quotes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 11, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701 "2010-04-11T04:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/41 "2010-04-12T14:39:29Z")
Pilot - I’ve got a MIG on my tail! Tower - Shut up and die like an aviator. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/42 "2010-04-12T14:48:14Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > Pilot - I’ve got a MIG on my tail! > Tower - Shut up and die like an aviator. Huh. I thought that came from WWII, Pacific Theatre. According to Tom Wolfe, it allegedly came from Korea, as stated in [_The Right Stuff_](http://books.google.com/books?id=h10V8jGmgn8C&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=%22Shut+up+and+die+like+an+aviator%22+%22the+right+stuff%22&source=bl&ots=8RrfX3aUqX&sig=W1PqjeK6JYmwlFadeGztN_pgSFU&hl=en&ei=bjHDS77VEJOknQfFjpSKCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Shut%20up%20and%20die%20like%20an%20aviator%22%20%22the%20right%20stuff%22&f=false) (first full paragraph, second column of text on the link). EDIT: Not that I thought there were MiGs in WWII, of course (there were, but not jets; and not in the Pacific AFAIK). I thought the pilot in question said ‘Zekes’. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/43 "2010-04-12T15:04:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Huh. I thought that came from WWII, Pacific Theatre. According to Tom Wolfe, it allegedly came from Korea, as stated in [_The Right Stuff_](http://books.google.com/books?id=h10V8jGmgn8C&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=%22Shut+up+and+die+like+an+aviator%22+%22the+right+stuff%22&source=bl&ots=8RrfX3aUqX&sig=W1PqjeK6JYmwlFadeGztN_pgSFU&hl=en&ei=bjHDS77VEJOknQfFjpSKCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Shut%20up%20and%20die%20like%20an%20aviator%22%20%22the%20right%20stuff%22&f=false) (first full paragraph, second column of text on the link). > > EDIT: Not that I thought there were MiGs in WWII, of course (there were, but not jets; and not in the Pacific AFAIK). I thought the pilot in question said ‘Zekes’. I was just paraphrasing from The Right Stuff. Reading your link, Wolfe says it’s a legend, so maybe the story has earlier roots. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/44 "2010-04-12T15:33:09Z")
There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. - From the fictitious reference The Hitchhiker’s Guide - **Douglas Adams** ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/45 "2010-04-12T16:49:53Z")
From my uncle, who has ~30,000 accident-free hours\*\* in the air, as we watched Dick Rutan being interviewed after his 'round-the-world flight. IIRC, Rutan said something like; There’s two kinds of pilots, Test pilots; and Bus drivers. My uncle said “I’ve been flying for over 30 years and I ain’t ever drug _my_ wings\* on the ground.” \*As they started on their circumnavigating flight, the voyager’s wings flexed on takeoff (probably due to the fuel load) and drug along the runway, ripping the winglets off. \*\*a sampling: F-84, F-100, F-101, C-119, DC-7, DC-8, DC-9, 707, 727, 737 ---
**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/46 "2010-04-12T18:02:09Z")
Two things my instructors told me many times, which I’m sure they heard many times from their own instrutors: Better to be on the ground wishing you were flying, than up in the air wishing you were on the ground. There is nothing more useless in an emergency than the runway behind you, the altitude above you, and the fuel that is still in the truck. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/47 "2010-04-12T23:59:35Z")
On the wall of the pilots’ lounge at the airport I used to manage: “Taking off is the second greatest thrill in aviation. Landing is the first.” Stewardess to passenger on flight from New York: “Wake up. We’re in Aukland.” Passenger: “That’s Oakland, right?” ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/48 "2010-04-13T00:23:21Z")
> [@RalfCoder](#): > > Can’t remember where I saw it, but I remember something similar about a helicopter: it’s the only kind of flying machine that tries to fling its various bits and pieces over a large area without having to crash first. Helicopters don’t fly. They just vibrate so badly the earth rejects them. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/49 "2010-04-13T00:45:19Z")
Told to me in school: The ground has a PK of 1. Said by the same guy: Pilots wake up in the morning and say to themselves, “Y’know, I think I’m going to kill me some backenders today.” ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/50 "2010-04-13T00:47:51Z")
“Aviate, navigate, communicate.” Basic flying rule I repeat to myself when I drive. When asked to explain why he’d landed his plane in San Francisco bay two and a half miles short of the expected runway, Japan Airlines Captain Asoh replied: “Asoh fucked up.” This has become known as the Asoh Defense. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/51 "2010-04-13T01:47:21Z")
**Firefly:** Mal: “Yeah well, just get us on the ground.” Wash: “That part will happen pretty definitely.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/52 "2010-04-13T02:03:08Z")
“That’s not flying, that’s just falling with style.” - Woody (_Toy Story_) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/53 "2010-04-13T03:30:31Z")
[QUOTE= Jim Abrahams & David Zucker] Captain Oveur: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? Roger Murdock: Flight 2-0-9’er, you are cleared for take-off. Captain Oveur: Roger! Roger Murdock: Huh? Tower voice: L.A. departure frequency, 123 point 9’er. Captain Oveur: Roger! Roger Murdock: Huh? Victor Basta: Request vector, over. Captain Oveur: What? Tower voice: Flight 2-0-9’er cleared for vector 324. Roger Murdock: We have clearance, Clarence. Captain Oveur: Roger, Roger. What’s our vector, Victor? Tower voice: Tower’s radio clearance, over! Captain Oveur: That’s Clarence Oveur. Over. Tower voice: Over. Captain Oveur: Roger. Roger Murdock: Huh? Tower voice: Roger, over! Roger Murdock: What? Captain Oveur: Huh? [/QUOTE] That movie always cracks me up! ---
**Author:** ![ctywkr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@ctywkr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctywkr)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/54 "2010-04-13T03:47:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > How about ‘six turning and four burning’? From the [Convair B-36](http://home.flash.net/~mzinkand/b36/), which operated from 1949 to 1959. My Grandfather test flew this plane. He worked for Convair back then. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/55 "2010-04-13T04:17:13Z")
Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet air intakes If helicopters are so safe, how come there are no vintage/classic helicopter fly-ins? And since Airplane has been brought up > [@](#): > > Doctor Rumack: "When are we going to be able to land? > Ted Striker: "I can’t tell. > Doctor Rumack: "You can tell me, I’m a doctor. > Ted Striker: "I don’t know. > Doctor Rumack: "Well, can’t you take a guess? > Ted Striker: "Not for another two hours. > Doctor Rumack: "You can’t take a guess for another two hours? (the above from **Broomstick** ’s link) ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/56 "2010-04-13T04:32:59Z")
I highly recommend the “ATC Humour” thread under the “ATC Issues” forum on pprune. That thread was started in 2001, it’s up to 66 pages now and still going, and there’re tons of hilarious stories to keep you occupied for a very long time. I’m not sure if it’s against the rule to provide a direct link to a thread in another message board (I seem to recall that has caused some problems before), so I’m not linking to it here, but you should be able to find it on the web easily enough. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/57 "2010-04-13T05:24:33Z")
“If Harley-Davidson built an airplane, would you fly on it?” -Unknown and often ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/58 "2010-04-13T13:19:48Z")
After a bumpy landing, a passenger told the pilot “I’m a teacher and I’d give your landing a C-.” Pilot: The course is graded Pass/Fail. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/59 "2010-04-13T16:51:27Z")
An aviation-related Dumb Fill-In-The-Blank joke: A dumb \_\_\_ was taking their first flight in a large airplane. As they were walking onto the plane, they spotted the manufacturer’s name near the door. The strangely spelled name amused them and they started saying it over and over again, not knowing how to pronounce it. Even dumb \_\_\_s know about the “silent e” in the English language, so they figured this was one of those cases. “Boeing! Boeing! Boeing!” they exclaimed. Over and over again, while standing in line, waiting for people seated in row 34 to stuff their carry-ons into the business class bins. “Boeing! Boeing! Boeing!” The flight attendant was already peeved at the people in the cheap seats taking the business class bins had enough. “Be quiet!” she hissed. “Oing! Oing! Oing!” ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701/60 "2010-04-13T17:28:45Z")
“Selling the airplane. … the airplane never knows it’s inverted.” - Tex Johnston’s reply to Bill Allen, head of Boeing after being asked what he thought he was doing when he rolled the Dash 80 over Lake Washington for the 1954 SeaFair. Tex apparently did this maneuver many times, once in a KC-135 with an uncle of mine in the jump seat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-aviation-quotes/535701.md?page=2)