Airmanship Quotes

Effortlessness and yet such total presence

By Dave English

“Rowing at its best occurs when you are gliding through the water with such effortlessness and yet such total presence that you almost seem to disappear. Rowers use the term ‘swing’ to refer to that magical kind of condition when the boat seems to fly over the water and a lot of effort disappears from the stroke. The athlete becomes completely the servant of the oars, the water, and the shell; your individuality—your separate self—isn’t there anymore.… Rowing can get you in a state where you’re ready to expand your definition of yourself, and I call that an expansion of … Continue reading Effortlessness and yet such total presence

Astronaut Chris Hadfield on negative thinking

By Dave English

“Self-help gurus are always advising us to think positively and envisage success, but it’s about as helpful as thinking about cupcakes. Just thinking about them isn’t going to help. It’s more important to think what could go wrong with a mission. Visualize failings, not success. That’s what’s essential to survival as an astronaut. I was an astronaut for 21 years, but I only spent six months in space. The rest of the time, I was looking into every detail that might have gone wrong during a mission. Once you’ve understood all the potential risks and you’re forewarned against them, fear no longer … Continue reading Astronaut Chris Hadfield on negative thinking

Automation and the FAA/NTSB

By Dave English

I’m going to let the dust settle before addressing this issue fully. But right now the Washington Post has a great article on the FAA/NTSB automation debate. And the full FAA IG report is online here. “We’ve recommended that pilots have more opportunity to practice manually flying the aircraft.” Robert L. Sumwalt, who spent 32 years as an airline pilot before joining the NTSB in 2006.  

Do what you love

By Dave English

How much longer am I going to do this? I don’t know. I love it, you see. Anthony Bourdain, Chef. Writing about 27 years of cooking professionally, in his book ‘Kitchen Confidential’. He wrote that in 2000. Fifteen years later he is still going strong. If you want to be good, you have to love the doing.