“The control of fear is a necessary part of the inner work of flight.”
William Langewiesche
Breathe. Relax. Do the ‘what-if’ work ahead of time. All these are part of the Inner Work of Flight.
Quote is from Langewiesche’s 2010 book Aloft: Thoughts on the Experience of Flight. And yes, his Dad wrote Stick and Rudder.
“I used to think, I’m just a bird. The glider is the shell, the body of the bird. You become part of it. If you can get to that stage, you can manoeuvre the glider anywhere you want to. Rather than thinking about how to control the machine you’re sitting in, you think, this is all a part of me.“
Lemmy Tanner, quoted in the 2018 book Skybound.
“Mountains are not fair or unfair, they are just dangerous.”
Reinhold Messner, All Fourteen 8,000ers, 1999.
Wikipedia says this about Messner: He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen. He was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, doing so without supplementary oxygen. Messner was the first to cross Antarctica and Greenland with neither snowmobiles nor dog sleds and also crossed the Gobi Desert alone. He is widely considered as the greatest mountaineer of all time.
“I just like to be up in the air, and the feeling of being a part of the plane.”
John Coward
John started in Tiger Moths, flew for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, and then British Airways, ending his career going around the world in B707s. On retirement, he flew gliders in Wales. Quoted in the wonderful 2018 book Skybound.
“Your new job is to say ‘no,’ when everyone else says ‘go’.”
Happy New Year! Here’s to resolutions of flying more, flying better. This is from new Delta captain Jeremy King, his first trip as pilot-in-command of an airliner:
https://wordsaloft.substack.com/p/managing-delays-gaining-time-without
