How you do the little things

By Dave English

How you do the little things everyday is important. Why is explained by former RAF Tornado F3 fighter pilot and Red Arrows display pilot Justin Hughes in his 2016 book The Business of Excellence.

The full quote is:

How you do the little things is how you do everything. You don’t choose a different behaviour just because it’s a big important job and you’re under a lot of stress. In fact, it’s quite the opposite; when you’re really under a lot of pressure, you revert to default wired-in behaviours because you have too many other things to worry about than ‘raising the bar’. The lesson about professional standards is fairly self-explanatory: excellence starts with the person you see in the mirror.

Aeroplane does all the work

By Dave English

This quote comes from Mike Riley’s little gem, The Concorde Stick and Rudder Book. You don’t fight an plane — you understand its ways and set the controls to let her fly well. Even, as it turns out, Concorde.

Mike Riley was a British Airways captain who instructed in the B707, VC10 and Concorde. He also instructed in light aircraft, and flew/trained/judged World Championship aerobatics.

Know what comes next

By Dave English

Know what comes next.

Captain Harry Linfield

Harry Linfield, Concorde captain & instructor, when I asked him in the Brooklands Concorde simulator what good pilots did well. He has instructed in RAF Jet Provosts, B707s, Concorde and after retiring, in piston Cessna’s. He told me whatever the speed, stay ahead of the aeroplane. And know what you are going to do next.