Steve Pierce
BENEFACTOR
Graham, TX
Thought you guys may need to review these meaningful aviation
rules.
1. As an aviator in flight you can do anything you want, as long as
it's right. And the FAA is always ready to let you know when it's not.
2. If you are present for your NTSB hearing, your flight wasn't TOTALLY
bad.
3. There are Rules and there are Laws. The rules are made by men who
think that they know better how to fly your airplane than you. The Laws (of
Physics) were made by the Great One. You can, and sometimes should,
suspend the Rules but you can never suspend the Laws.
4. More about Rules:
a. The rules are a good place to hide if you don't have a better
idea and the talent to execute it.
b. If you deviate from a rule, it must be a flawless performance.
(e.g., If you fly under a bridge, don't hit the bridge.)
5. The ideal pilot is the perfect blend of childishness and
discipline.
6. About check rides:
a. The only real objective of a check ride is to complete it and
get the bastard out of your airplane.
b. It has never occurred to any flight examiner that the examinee
could care less what the examiner's opinion of his flying ability really is.
7. The medical profession is the natural enemy of the aviation
profession.
8. He who demands everything that his aircraft can give him is a pilot;
he that demands one iota more is a fool.
9. If you're gonna fly low, do not fly slow!
10. It is solely the pilot's responsibility to never let any other
thing touch his aircraft during flight.
11. About night flying:
a. Remember that the airplane doesn't know that it's dark.
b. On a clear, moonless night, never fly between another
aircraft's lights.
c. There are certain aircraft sounds that can only be heard at
night.
d. If you're going to night fly, it might as well be in the
weather so you can log both hazards.
e. You would have to pay a lot of money at a lot of amusement
parks and perhaps add a few drugs, to get the same blend of psychedelic
sensations as a single engine night instrument flight during thunderstorm season.
12. One of the most important skills that a pilot must develop is the
skill to ignore those things that were designed by non-pilots to get the
pilot's attention.
13. At the end of the day, the controllers, ops supervisors,
maintenance guys, weather guessers, and birds; they're all trying to kill you and
your job is to not let them!
14. The concept of "controlling" airspace with radar is just a form of
FAA sarcasm directed at innocent pilots to see if they're gullible enough
to swallow it. Or to put it another way, when is the last time the FAA
ever shot anyone down?
15. Remember that the radio is only an electronic suggestion box for
the pilot. Sometimes the only way to clear up a problem is to turn it off.
16. It is a tacit, yet profound admission of the pre-eminence of flying
in the hierarchy of the human spirit, that those who seek to control
aviators via threats always threaten to take one's certificate and not one's
life.
17. Remember when flying low and inverted that the rudder still works
the same old way but hopefully your instructor never taught you "pull
stick back, plane go up".
18. Mastering the prohibited maneuvers in the POH is one of the best
forms of aviation life insurance you can get.
19. The aircraft G-limits are only there in case there is another
flight by that particular airplane. If subsequent flights do not appear likely,
there are no G-limits.
20. One of the beautiful things about a single piloted aircraft is the
quality of the social experience.
21. If a mother has the slightest suspicion that her infant might grow
up to be a pilot, she had better teach him not to break his toys.
22. The ultimate responsibility of the pilot is to fulfill the dreams
of the countless millions of earthbound ancestors who could only stare skyward
and wish.
23. Any flight over water in a single engine airplane will absolutely
guarantee abnormal engine noises and vibrations.
rules.
1. As an aviator in flight you can do anything you want, as long as
it's right. And the FAA is always ready to let you know when it's not.
2. If you are present for your NTSB hearing, your flight wasn't TOTALLY
bad.
3. There are Rules and there are Laws. The rules are made by men who
think that they know better how to fly your airplane than you. The Laws (of
Physics) were made by the Great One. You can, and sometimes should,
suspend the Rules but you can never suspend the Laws.
4. More about Rules:
a. The rules are a good place to hide if you don't have a better
idea and the talent to execute it.
b. If you deviate from a rule, it must be a flawless performance.
(e.g., If you fly under a bridge, don't hit the bridge.)
5. The ideal pilot is the perfect blend of childishness and
discipline.
6. About check rides:
a. The only real objective of a check ride is to complete it and
get the bastard out of your airplane.
b. It has never occurred to any flight examiner that the examinee
could care less what the examiner's opinion of his flying ability really is.
7. The medical profession is the natural enemy of the aviation
profession.
8. He who demands everything that his aircraft can give him is a pilot;
he that demands one iota more is a fool.
9. If you're gonna fly low, do not fly slow!
10. It is solely the pilot's responsibility to never let any other
thing touch his aircraft during flight.
11. About night flying:
a. Remember that the airplane doesn't know that it's dark.
b. On a clear, moonless night, never fly between another
aircraft's lights.
c. There are certain aircraft sounds that can only be heard at
night.
d. If you're going to night fly, it might as well be in the
weather so you can log both hazards.
e. You would have to pay a lot of money at a lot of amusement
parks and perhaps add a few drugs, to get the same blend of psychedelic
sensations as a single engine night instrument flight during thunderstorm season.
12. One of the most important skills that a pilot must develop is the
skill to ignore those things that were designed by non-pilots to get the
pilot's attention.
13. At the end of the day, the controllers, ops supervisors,
maintenance guys, weather guessers, and birds; they're all trying to kill you and
your job is to not let them!
14. The concept of "controlling" airspace with radar is just a form of
FAA sarcasm directed at innocent pilots to see if they're gullible enough
to swallow it. Or to put it another way, when is the last time the FAA
ever shot anyone down?
15. Remember that the radio is only an electronic suggestion box for
the pilot. Sometimes the only way to clear up a problem is to turn it off.
16. It is a tacit, yet profound admission of the pre-eminence of flying
in the hierarchy of the human spirit, that those who seek to control
aviators via threats always threaten to take one's certificate and not one's
life.
17. Remember when flying low and inverted that the rudder still works
the same old way but hopefully your instructor never taught you "pull
stick back, plane go up".
18. Mastering the prohibited maneuvers in the POH is one of the best
forms of aviation life insurance you can get.
19. The aircraft G-limits are only there in case there is another
flight by that particular airplane. If subsequent flights do not appear likely,
there are no G-limits.
20. One of the beautiful things about a single piloted aircraft is the
quality of the social experience.
21. If a mother has the slightest suspicion that her infant might grow
up to be a pilot, she had better teach him not to break his toys.
22. The ultimate responsibility of the pilot is to fulfill the dreams
of the countless millions of earthbound ancestors who could only stare skyward
and wish.
23. Any flight over water in a single engine airplane will absolutely
guarantee abnormal engine noises and vibrations.
