Wiley Post was the first pilot to fly solo around the world, test pilot for the pressure suit, discovered the jet stream, worked on early autopilots. And apparently was deeply in touch with the inner art of airmanship. (Quote in his 1931 book Around the World in Eight Days written with H. Gatty.) His friend J. H. Conger once said, “He didn’t just fly an airplane, he put it on.”
In 2011, before the Asiana B777 crash, before the UPS A300 crash, industry experts were talking about automation addiction. It’s in an excellent AP news story, Automation in the air dulls pilot skill. Think they were onto something? How do you stay sharp?
“It’s really your love of it that sets you apart.” “I didn’t have a life for 15 years, all I did was breathe and live and eat aerobatic flying and racing and aviation. It’s everything that you do. To be great in this, you have to be 100% committed. You need endurance. It’s a test. Every day is a test. … Some days you think you’ve failed, other days you think you’ve won. But every day is a new day. And the journey is what it’s all about.” ~ Michael Goulian, airshow and Red Bull air race pilot. (Flying magazine … Continue reading What sets Michael Goulian apart?
“The fun is to learn. To just keep that learning process going.” ~ Helen Mirren, who turns 70 this month. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards, and one Tony Award. In 2003, she received a Damehood in the Order of the British Empire. She clearly enjoys the perpetual pursuit. (Interview for CBS television show ‘Sunday Morning’ 14 June 2015.)
“I am looking to see whether anything is out of order. There will be no time to look for what is missing or out of place when a storm comes up at sea.” ~ Phoenician seaman, circa 330 BC. The ‘secrets’ of airmanship haven’t really been secret for at least the last 2,500 years! (The unnamed seaman is quoted in Delphi Complete Works of Xenophon.)
