If a thing is old, it is a sign that it was fit to live. The guarantee of continuity is quality. Eddie Rickenbacker More Quotes by Eddie Rickenbacker More Quotes From Eddie Rickenbacker There is a peculiar gratification in receiving congratulations from one's squadron for a victory in the air. It is worth more to a pilot than the applause of the whole outside world. Eddie Rickenbacker victory congratulations air Let the moment come when nothing is left but life, and you will find that you do not hesitate over the fate of material possessions. Eddie Rickenbacker fate possession moments The experienced fighting pilot does not take unnecessary risks. His business is to shoot down enemy planes, not to get shot down. Eddie Rickenbacker risk fighting enemy In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish! Eddie Rickenbacker rubbish military enemy When I look up and see the sun shining on the patch of white clouds up in the blue, I begin to think how it would feel to be up somewhere above it winging swiftly through the clean air, watching the earth below. Eddie Rickenbacker air clouds thinking The key to success, is to think things through and then follow through. Eddie Rickenbacker key-to-success keys thinking Fighting in the air is not sport. It is scientific murder. Eddie Rickenbacker fighting military sports The smallest amount of vanity is fatal in aeroplane fighting. Selfdistrust rather is the quality to which many a pilot owes his protracted existence. Eddie Rickenbacker vanity quality fighting And I have yet to find one single individual who has attained conspicuous success in bringing down enemy aeroplanes who can be said to be spoiled either by his successes or by the generous congratulations of his comrades. If he were capable of being spoiled he would not have had the character to have won continuous victories, for the smallest amount of vanity is fatal in aeroplane fighting. Self-distrust rather is the quality to which many a pilot owes his protracted existence. Eddie Rickenbacker congratulations fighting character Within the next few decades, autos will have folding wings that can be spread when on a straight stretch of road so that the machine can take to the air. Eddie Rickenbacker next air wings Flying is one of the safest jobs in the Army as long as you don't drop out. If you do drop out, you are a dead man, and dropping out means, usually, that you have made a mistake or let go of your grip. Eddie Rickenbacker letting-go mistake jobs Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared. Eddie Rickenbacker Courage is COMPETENCE! Eddie Rickenbacker When I look up and see the sun shining on the patch of white clouds up in the blue, I begin to think how it would feel to be up somewhere above it winging swiftly thought the clear air, watching the earth below, and the men on it, no bigger than ants. Eddie Rickenbacker sun blue clouds men Some friends are better shots than are casual enemies. Eddie Rickenbacker enemies better casual friends The obviously inexperienced pilot is the game the scientific air-fighter goes after, and the majority of victories are won that way. But, on the other hand, it is the novice usually who gets the famous ace by doing at some moment the unexpected thing. Eddie Rickenbacker game moment unexpected way Never count on the crowd to take care of you. Eddie Rickenbacker never you take-care care Long practise in driving a racing car at a hundred miles an hour or so gives first-class training in control and judging distances at high speed and helps tremendously in getting motor sense, which is rather the feel of your engine than the sound of it, a thing you get through your bones and nerves rather than simply your ears. Eddie Rickenbacker you training car long Fighting in the air is not a sport. It is scientific murder. Eddie Rickenbacker scientific sport fighting air I shall never ask any pilot to go on a mission that I won't go on. Eddie Rickenbacker pilot mission never go
