Airmanship Quotes

The problem with pilots

By Dave English

Finished reading an amazing book that was published last year— The Problem with Pilots: How Physicians, Engineers, and Airpower Enthusiasts Redefined Flight, by former USAF U2 instructor pilot and dean of their school of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Colonel Timothy P. Schultz, PhD. It covers the history of automation in aircraft, the replacement and extension of piloting skills into faster, higher, more precise aerial machines. It’s a must-read for people interested in aviation history, human factors engineering, or understanding the history of automated flying. Full of original research, fully referenced, deeply academic yet written in easy flowing English. And … Continue reading The problem with pilots

Only one time

By Dave English

Living in the here and now can sound very hippy-dippy, but it’s also where all our power resides. And as pilots, we like power! “Remember then: there is only one time that is important— Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.” ~ Leo Tolstoy, What Men Live By. 1885.

Ride a dragon

By Dave English

Jon Snow: “I don’t know how to ride a dragon.”‬ ‪Queen Daenerys Targaryen: “Nobody does until they ride a dragon.”‬ Game of Thrones, season 8, episode 1. Ground school, chair flying, simulators — all are good. But sometimes it feels like you don’t really know how to fly untill you’ve riden the dragon. 🐉

Reasonable rational individuals

By Dave English

“Most accidents originate in actions committed by reasonable, rational individuals who were acting to achieve an assigned task in what they perceived to be a responsible and professional manner. They have probably committed these same unsafe acts before without negative consequences because the existing conditions at the time did not favour an interaction of the flawed decisions or deficiences present in the system.” Peter Harle, Director of Accident Prevention, Transportation Safety Board of Canada and former RCAF pilot, ‘Investigation of human factors: The link to accident prevention.’ In Johnston, N., McDonald, N., & Fuller, R. (Eds.), Aviation Psychology in Practice, … Continue reading Reasonable rational individuals

Olé Olé Olé!

By Dave English

An electrifying movie about the Rolling Stones recent South American tour has awesome concert footage, and some reflective thoughts from all the band members after 55+ years of working towards excellence and mastery: “At the start of a tour, it’s like being on a tightrope, that once you’ve set foot on it, that rope widens and becomes a bridge that you can run across.” ~ Ronnie Wood. “I felt I’d been given a very complicated puzzle to solve. And that I could just figure a little bit more out every time, then there was another big of the puzzle solved. … Continue reading Olé Olé Olé!