Richard Bach on flying’s core

New Richard Bach words on flying! He’s owned 41 planes, flew jets in the USAF, and as West Coast editor of Flying magazine saw loads more. I asked him what’s core to flying them all? “Flying all these aircraft is based on one single prayer that will never come true: Please let me become the sky. From 10 mph in a paraglider to Mach 2 in an F-106 waits the same feeling. Surrounded by forever in the center of the sky, we yearn to become that foreverness, ourselves. Some say that’s so, that our spirit lives forever. Flying is the … Continue reading Richard Bach on flying’s core

Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown talks flying

Legendary Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown was a British Royal Navy test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history. He was the most-decorated pilot in the history of the Royal Navy. Some of his ‘firsts’ include first to land a jet on an aircraft carrier and first to land a twin-engine aircraft on an aircraft carrier. He logged over 2,200 aircraft carrier landings. Fought in combat, commanded air bases. Absolutely bloody amazing. Amazon Prime Video has a great little documentary that is almost all him sitting on his couch talking, with some old test footage. … Continue reading Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown talks flying

Aeroplane does all the work

This quote comes from Mike Riley’s little gem, The Concorde Stick and Rudder Book. You don’t fight an plane — you understand its ways and set the controls to let her fly well. Even, as it turns out, Concorde. Mike Riley was a British Airways captain who instructed in the B707, VC10 and Concorde. He also instructed in light aircraft, and flew/trained/judged World Championship aerobatics.