We learn from every pilot we fly with, every pilot we talk to. Sometimes we learn a lot. These links to interviews and essays from master pilots I’ve been lucky enough to talk with gives us a peek inside their heads. They’ve flown loads of cool airplanes, in different missions all over the world. But what’s interesting here is not technical details or differences; but finding the common connections, the core inner airmanship that holds true for every type of flying.
A huge thank you to all the pilots who’ve clearly been generous sharing their insights:
It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.
J.K. Rowling
A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted to the sky, would not be enough for the investigation of so vast a subject.
Seneca
Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.
Henry David Thoreau
We’re just focusing on skiing and improving. We’re not talking about statistics or wins or even medals.
Mikaela Shiffrin