If you want to grow old as a pilot, you’ve got to know when to push it, and when to back off.
Meaning of the quote
As a pilot, you need to be careful and make smart decisions. Sometimes you need to try your best and push your skills to the limit. But other times, it's better to hold back and not take big risks. Learning to know the right moment for each - when to push and when to back off - is the key to staying safe and flying for a long time.
About Chuck Yeager
Chuck Yeager was a legendary American pilot who broke the sound barrier and set numerous speed and altitude records. He served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and is considered one of the greatest pilots of all time. Yeager’s incredible career spanned over 70 years and included flying more than 360 different types of aircraft.
More quotes from Chuck Yeager
Never wait for trouble.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can’t, you do the next best thing. You back up but you don’t give up.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
Rules are made for people who aren’t willing to make up their own.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
Most pilots learn, when they pin on their wings and go out and get in a fighter, especially, that one thing you don’t do, you don’t believe anything anybody tells you about an airplane.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
There’s no such thing as a natural-born pilot.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
If you want to grow old as a pilot, you’ve got to know when to push it, and when to back off.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
You don’t concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
I was always afraid of dying. Always. It was my fear that made me learn everything I could about my airplane and my emergency equipment, and kept me flying respectful of my machine and always alert in the cockpit.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound
Later, I realized that the mission had to end in a let-down because the real barrier wasn’t in the sky but in our knowledge and experience of supersonic flight.
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound