Forces wisdom...
'It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.'
- US.Air Force Manual
'Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons.'
- General MacArthur
'You, you, and you ... Panic. The rest of you, come with me.'
- Infantry Sgt.-
'Tracers work both ways.'
- Army Ordnance Manual -
'Five second fuses last about three seconds.'
- Infantry Journal
The three most useless things in aviation are: Fuel in the bowser; Runway behind you; and Air above you.
- Basic Flight Training Manual -
'Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once.'
- Naval Ops Manual
'Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.'
- Unknown Infantry Recruit -
'If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him.'
- Infantry Journal -
'Yea, Though I Fly Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 50,000 Feet and Climbing.'
- Sign over SR71 Wing Ops -
'You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3.'
- Paul F. Crickmore (SR71 test pilot) -
'The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.'
- Unknown Author -
'If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage it has to be a helicopter - and therefore, unsafe.'
- Fixed Wing Pilot -
'When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane, you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.'
- Multi-Engine Training Manual -
'Without ammunition, the Air Force is just an expensive flying club.'
- Unknown Author -
'If the enemy is in range, so are you.'
- Infantry Journal -
'If you hear me yell;"Eject, Eject, Eject!", the last two will be echos.'
If you stop to ask "Why?", you'll be talking to yourself, because by the n you'll be the pilot.'
- Pre-flight Briefing from a Canadian F104 Pilot -
'What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots?
If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; but If ATC screws up, ... the pilot dies.'
- Sign over Control Tower Door -
'Never trade luck for skill.'
- Author Unknown -
The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in military aviation are:'Did you feel that?' 'What's that noise?' and 'Oh S...!'
- Authors Unknown -
'Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.'
- Basic Flight Training Manual -
'Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.'
- Emergency Checklist -
'The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.'
- Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot)
'There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.'
- Sign over Squadron Ops Desk at Davis-Montham AFB -
'You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.'
- Lead-in Fighter Training Manual -