“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, Japan

“The only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.”

“Blue water Navy truism: There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky.”
— From an old carrier sailor

“When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.”

“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.”

“Flashlights are tubular metal containers kept in a flight bag for the purpose of storing dead batteries.”

“When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was forgotten.”

“There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.”
— Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970

“If something hasn’t broken on your helicopter, it’s about to.”

“You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.”
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