Rules For Flight (many also apply to models)
1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.
2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the
stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all
the way back, then they get bigger again.
3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous.
4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up
there wishing you were down here.
5. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.
6. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the
pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.
7. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with
the sky.
8. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing
is one after which they can use the plane again.
9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all
of them yourself
10. You know you've landed with the wheels up when it takes full power to
taxi to the ramp.
11. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of
arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice
versa.
12. Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five
minutes earlier.
13. Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might
be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also
report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.
14. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number
of take offs you've made.
15. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately
no one knows what they are.
16. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The
trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.
17. Helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly the earth repels them.
18. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and
round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger
compartment, things are not at all as they should be.
19. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum (or balsa) going
hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the
ground has yet to lose.
20. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience
usually comes from bad judgment.
21. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as
possible.
22. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.
23. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not
subject to appeal.
24. The four most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you,
runway behind you, gas back at the airport, and a tenth of a second ago.
25. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no
old, bold pilots.
Occasionally airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight announcements a bit more interesting.
Pilot - "Folks, we have reached our cruising altitude now, so I am going to switch the seat belt sign off, Feel free to move about as you wish, but please stay inside the plane till we land ... it's a bit cold outside, and if you walk on the wings it affects the flight pattern."
After landing: "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Washington National, a lone voice comes over the loudspeaker: 'Whoa, big fella, WHOA!
After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced: Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."
From a Southwest Airlines employee .... . Welcome aboard Southwest Flight XXX to YYY. To operate your seatbelt insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seatbelt, and if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised. In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with two small children, decide now which one you love more. Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds...... but they'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines." "As you exit the plane, please make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants, Please do not leave children or spouses," Last one off the plane cleans it.
From the pilot during his welcome message: 'We are pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the Industry ... Unfortunately none of them are on this flight ... !
Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City: The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, That was quite a bump and I know what you are thinking, I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault..... it was the asphalt!"
Another flight Attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: 'We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."
After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix (the city in Arizona, not our club), the Flight Attendant came on with, Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt up against the gate. And, once the tyre smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.
Part of a Flight Attendant's arrival announcement: We'd like
to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the
insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we
hope you'll think of us here at US Airways."
Just after taking off, the captain of a jumbo makes his customary announcement about the length of the journey, expected arrival time and so on. But after he's finished he forgets to turn off the microphone, turns to his co-pilot and says, "Right, I'll finish this sandwich, then I think I'll nip back and make love to that new redheaded stewardess." In horror, the stewie, who is at the rear of the plane, rushes down the aisle to prevent the captain's indiscretion going any further. On her way, an old lady grabs her arm. "Why rush, dear?" she says. "He said he had to finish his sandwich first."
A Boeing 747 flying from London to New York develops engine trouble and starts plummeting towards the ocean. As she realises what's going on, the head stewardess crashes into the pilots' cabin, stands in front of the captain and rips off her blouse, saying, "Captain, make me feel like a woman before I die!" The pilot rips his shirt off and says, "Here you go, then - iron this."
The Obligatory Irish Joke
Paddy and Murphy are flying along in their
old Tiger Moth, Murphy asks.
"Hey Paddy, if we fly upside down do you think we'll fall out?".
Paddy "No Murphy, I think we'll still be friends"
On their recent round the
world balloon trip Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones got lost in fog. When
Brian said to Bertrand "where do you think we are?" Bertrand said, "hang on"
and put his hand out of the window, then declared "we are over Italy."
"Brilliant how do you know that?" Asked Brian. "Simple because I could feel
the leaning tower of Pizza!" A little while longer Brian said, "where do you
think we are now then." Again Bertrand put out his hand. "I can feel the
Eiffel Tower so we must be over France." A bit longer and again Brian asks
where they are. Bertrand pops his hand out again; "oh we must be over
Liverpool." "That's amazing" says Brian, "how do you know this time?"
"Because some bastard just nicked my watch!"
Pierre the fighter pilot.
Pierre, the famous French fighter pilot, is having a
picnic with his girlfriend. After the meal, she turns to him and says,
"Pierre, kiss my red lips." Pierre pulls out his best bottle of red wind and
empties it all over the girl's lips, then he dives in. After five minutes
she pulls back and, out of breath, says, "Pierre, that's wonderful, but why
the wine?" "Because I am Pierre, the famous French fighter pilot, and with
red meat, I drink red wine." "Oooh," she purrs, "kiss me lower." Pierre
pulls out a bottle of white wine and splashes it over her breasts. He rips
her blouse off and dives in, kissing. After five minutes she pulls back and
pants, "Wonderful! But why do you need the white wine?" "Because I am
Pierre, the famous French fighter pilot, and when I eat white meat, I drink
white wine." The girl swoons. "Oooh, Pierre , kiss me even lower." Pierre
reaches into the picnic basket, pulls out his best cognac and pours it over
her crotch. He strikes a match, throws it in and up it goes. "Aarghh!
Pierre, Pierre!" yells the woman, patting down the flames. "Why? Why"
"Because I am Pierre, the famous French fighter pilot," he answers coolly.
"And when I go down, I go down in flames."
RC Definitions
ANGLE OF ATTACK - Direction from which you are hit after setting up a
nice mid-air with your club mate's new plane.
AUTOROTATION - What your car does on icy roads.
BALSA - What dreams were made of.
BALSA - Also: What P-51 pilots have a lot of.
BALSA STRIPPER - Lightweight female dancer, rhythmically removing
covering, to show inner structure to drooling RC Pilots.
BLIND NUT - Judge at a pattern contest.
BULKHEAD - Removable part of fuselage. Comes off on landing.
CARPET FIBRE - When others are bragging about their high-tech
composite planes and you have only the Gentle Lady you built on the floor of
your two-room apartment, mutter quickly (under your breath), "Yep, this
baby's reinforced with Carpet Fibre!"
CIRCLE TOW - How to point someone in the direction of the scoring
tent when you have both hands holding your plane together until the quick
epoxy sets.
CRASH - Quick method of removing radio and engine from a model to fit
them in your new one.
CRASH - Also: Synonym for "re-kitting" a model
CENTER OF GRAVITY - Point in which G-forces, dedicated to separating
wing from fuselage, do their stuff.
CANARD - Frequently seen at ponds. Willing opponent for dogfights.
COMPUTER - Device that enables you to make mistakes at the speed of
light.
CYANOACRYLATE - Special glue, designed to instantly glue fingers to
balsa structures.
CYANOACRYLATE - Also : Special glue, instantly curing when parts are
misaligned, will hardly (if at all) cure when parts are correctly aligned.
CYANOACRYLATE - Also : Substance used to make eyes water profusely at
critical points in construction.
CYANOACRYLATE - Also : Stuff usually dripping on your clothes,
turning them into armor and you into a modeler knight.
DEAD STICK - Two of these can be found on your transmitter after
failing to properly charge your batteries.
DEAD STICK - Also : The Yucca your aunt gave you to clear the air in
your workshop after 3 months lack of water.
DOWNWIND TURN - Sensitive item that, when posted in
UK.REC.MODELS.RADIO-CONTROL.AIR, will generate threads of 100 entry's and
up.
ENGINE - Device designed to make noise. Will suddenly stop making
this noise when beyond glide-in distance.
EPOXY - The stuff that has replaced the balsa after the flying
season.
FAIL SAFE - Option on PCM radio's that allows a pilot to choose
whether to crash near him, or a long way away.
FLARE - What someone has when they're good enough to show off.
FLARE - Also: Beginner's luck.
FLYING WING - To be seen after too tight a loop.
FUEL TANK - Plastic bottle, designed to leak when placed in totally
inaccessible locations.
FUSELAGE - Optional interconnecting structure between wings and
engine.
FUSELAGE - Also: Receptacle into which the R/C pilot stuffs money in
the hope that his plane will fly better.
GLITCH - What you shout when you pull up elevator while flying
inverted at 10ft altitude.
GRAVITY - Force of nature designed to reduce aircraft to their
component parts.
LANDING GEAR - Structure to separate fuselage from runway after
landing. Does not always succeed in doing so.
LANDING - Comes in multiple forms
GOOD - The plane comes in contact with the ground, and all bits are
still there. (rare form)
AVERAGE - The plane comes in contact with the ground, and most bits are
still there. (most common form)
BAD - The plane comes in contact with the ground, and all bits have
grown in number but diminished in size. (common form)
LUCK - Comes in multiple forms:
PLAIN Very sparse on your side, but plenty with your flying buddies only
they refer to it as SKILL.
TOUGH This is what you usually have. Your flying buddies refer to it as
lack of skill.
BAD Same as TOUGH.
GOOD What you need the most.
MEAN AIR CHORD - That nasty minor eighth note caused when your wings
snap on launch and whack together.
MIXTURE SCREW - Device to meter too little fuel to engine at critical
moments.
MONOKOTE - The thing that ruins every ounce of hard work that you put
into a plane to make it look nice.
NOSEWHEEL - Implement used to remove bulkhead.
O.S. - Initials of the two words that an r/c pilot says when he loses
control going straight down.
PATTERN PLAN - Make a copy of the plans so when it crashes, you have
the patterns to build another one.
PROPELLER - Rotating knife that cuts holes in the air, which the
aircraft falls into, thus propelling the aircraft.
PROPELLER - Also : Handy tool to cut away excess skin on knuckles.
PROP NUT - What Glider pilots call Power pilots.
P-51 MUSTANG - What beginners use to learn to fly.
RADIO- Expensive electronic device to randomly alleviate overcharged
batteries.
RADIO GLITCH- Documented Electronic occurrence, causing immediate and
irreparable loss of control.
RADIO GLITCH- Also : The source of any crash when there is a
possibility of someone else's radio in close proximity to the plane.
SWEPT AREA - The only part of your apartment not covered in balsa
dust.
WETTED AREA - After Deefa the Wonderdog finds the swept area.
TAIL-DRAGGER - R/C pilot who has spent an hour looking for his plane
in a forest. See also "glitch".
THERMAL - Mythical occurrence of rising air - usually where one's
sailplane is not.
TRAINER CORD - Handy device for electronically instilling false
confidence in rookie pilots.
TREE - Implement used to separate Wings from Fuselage. See also
"glitch".
SINK - Non-mythical meteorological event stimulated by rc soaring
contests.
SNAP ROLL - After a nice hard G roll, something SNAPS (usually and
most likely the wing). Aerodynamic ability will slightly diminish.
STALL - Score Gravity: 1, Mr. Pilot: 0 .
TIP STALL - Offering several minutes worth of un-requested advice to
a nearby pilot INSTEAD of taking your turn to launch off the winch; used
when sink is in the air and contest points are at stake. See 'sandbagging'.
UPWIND TURN - Same as DOWNWIND TURN. . . . NO it isn't ! YES it is !
NO it isn't ! YES it is ! NO it isn't ! YES it is ! IS NOT ! IS TOO ! IS NOT
! IS TOO ! IS ..... etc. etc. etc.
WING - Device that, due to it's airfoil, allows air to flow faster
over the top, thereby allowing you the opportunity to pour excess funding
into the resulting low-pressure area.
WING AREA - What you get more of in the car by leaving the wife at
home.