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Quote by Ernest K. Gann

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Fate is the Hunter: A Pilot's Memoir

This book provides a personal account of the author's journey as a pilot, detailing the challenges, triumphs, and the profound impact of fate on his life and career. more

Author

Ernest K. Gann
Ernest K. Gann

Ernest K. Gann was a celebrated American aviator, writer, and speaker, born on October 13, 1910, and passing away on December 19, 1991. His career as a pilot spanned two decades, during which he flew various aircraft types and participated in numerous aviation adventures. Gann's writing, particularly his aviation novels, achieved widespread popularity and critical acclaim. more

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“Flying for the airlines is not supposed to be an adventure. From takeoff to landing, the autopilots handle the controls. This is routine. In a Boeing as much as an Airbus. And they make better work of it than any pilot can. You're not supposed to be the blue-eyed hero here. Your job is to make decisions, to stay awake, and to know which buttons to push and when. Your job is to manage the systems.”

“There's a lot of Hollywood bullshit about flying. I mean, look at the movies about test pilots or fighter pilots who face imminent death. The controls are jammed or something really important has fallen off the plane, and these guys are talking like magpies; their lives are flashing past their eyes, and they're flailing around in the cockpit. It just doesn't happen. You don't have time to talk. You're too damn busy trying to get out of the problem you're in to talk or ricochet around the cockpit. Or think about what happened the night after your senior prom.”

“I don't think I possess any skill that anyone else doesn't have. I've just had perhaps more of an opportunity, more of an exposure, and been fortunate to survive a lot of situations that many other weren't so lucky to make it. It's not how close can you get to the ground, but how precise can you fly the airplane. If you feel so careless with you life that you want to be the world's lowest flying aviator you might do it for a while. But there are a great many former friends of mine who are no longer with us simply because they cut their margins to close.”