Airmanship Quotes

Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown talks flying

By Dave English

Legendary Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown was a British Royal Navy test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history. He was the most-decorated pilot in the history of the Royal Navy. Some of his ‘firsts’ include first to land a jet on an aircraft carrier and first to land a twin-engine aircraft on an aircraft carrier. He logged over 2,200 aircraft carrier landings. Fought in combat, commanded air bases. Absolutely bloody amazing. Amazon Prime Video has a great little documentary that is almost all him sitting on his couch talking, with some old test footage. … Continue reading Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown talks flying

Awake

By Dave English

The squeak of tires on landing, the view over a ridgeline, the red warning light. When I’m fully awake, I’m flying my best. Quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, online article The Three Gems in Tricycle magazine. Original photo of single-seat sailplane CC0 Public Domain from pxhere.

With the automagic off, are you confident?

By Dave English

With autopilot, autothrottles, flight directors, GPS off — are you practised enough?  Really ready?  Comfortable? Many experts aren’t sure we are. The accident data is worrying. One test-pilot and astronaut with 60-years of flying experience has spoken out about the adverse side effects of automation. He’s noted that Apollo astronauts practised every procedure with and without automation. “We felt comfortable in our spacecraft, capable of flying them when the automatics failed and confident of returning home. This preparation paid dividends for Apollo 13.” “Pilots must be confident operating automated aircraft and capable to defer to their hands-on flying skills” Jim Lovell … Continue reading With the automagic off, are you confident?