Pilot Mindset Quotes

Dwelling on an engine failure for a pilot as he rolls down the runway is NOT what he should be thinking about - it's obtaining a smooth liftoff! But in the back of his mind, he knows exactly what to do (or pretty much) and in many cases, if he's alone in the fighter aircraft, he has to leave that aircraft in an ejection seat in a big hurry!

As soon as we left the ground, I knew I had to fly.

I was always afraid of dying. Always. It was my fear that made me learn everything I could about my airplane and my emergency equipment, and kept me flying respectful of my machine and always alert in the cockpit.

The mind aware of itself is a pilot... vastly freer than a passenger mind.

I'm so much more at ease now than when I was flying as Bob. Then, I was OCD about everything, always checking and looking for things. But flying as a female is effortless. I'm still checking traffic, instruments, and the radios, but it's easier to multitask, and flying is fun.

I never trust the airlines from those countries where the pilots believe in the afterlife. You are safer when they don't.

Now listen, buddy, there are a few corny ideas you got to get out of your head if you're going to fly an airplane. Most things are just the reverse from what people think. The higher you are the safer you are. The Earth down there, that, that-s your enemy because once you hit that, boy, you splatter.

Fighter pilots have ice in their veins. They don't have emotions. They think, anticipate. They know that fear and other concerns cloud your mind from what's going on and what you should be involved in.

Learning to fly an airplane taught me a way of thinking, an approach to problem-solving that was applicable and effective. Pilots are very methodical and meticulous, and artists tend not to be.

"What's the next thing that's going to kill me?" is a mantra for pilots and astronauts.

You concentrate on what you are doing, to do the best job you can, to stay out of a serious situation. That’s the way the X-1 was.