WISDOM FROM MILITARY MANUALS 'If the enemy is in range, so are you.' - Infantry Journal- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.' - US.Air Force Manual - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons.' - General MacArthur - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'You, you, and you ... Panic. The rest of you, come with me.' - U.S. Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Tracers work both ways.' - U.S. Army Ordnance Manual- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Five second fuses only last three seconds.' -Infantry Journal - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once.' - Maritime Ops Manual - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.' - Unknown Marine Recruit- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him.' -USAF Ammo Troop- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Yea, Though I Fly Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 50,000 Feet and Climbing.' - Sign over SR71 Wing Ops- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3.' -Paul F. Crickmore (SR71 test pilot)- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.' -Unknown Author- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage it has to be a helicopter --and therefore, unsafe.' - Fixed Wing Pilot- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane, you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.' -Multi-Engine Training Manual- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Without ammunition, the USAF is just an expensive flying club.' -Unknown Author- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'If you hear me yell;"Eject, Eject, Eject!", the last two will be echos.' If you stop to ask "Why?", you'll be talking to yourself, because you're the pilot.' -Pre-flight Briefing from a 104 Pilot- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots? If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; but If ATC screws up, .... the pilot dies.' -Sign over Control Tower Door- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Never trade luck for skill.' -Author Unknown- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.' -Basic Flight Training Manual- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Mankind has a perfect record in aviation - we have never left one up there!' - Unknown Author - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.' - Emergency Checklist- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.' - Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.' -Sign over Squadron Ops Desk at Davis-Montham AFB, AZ- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'If something hasn't broken on your helicopter, it's about to.' - Sign over Carrier Group Operations Desk- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.' - Lead-in Fighter Training Manual - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives. The rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks,'What happened?' The pilot's reply: 'I don't know, I just got here myself!' - Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)
