I have flown in just about everything, with all kinds of pilots in all parts of the world - British, French, Pakistani, Iranian, Japanese, Chinese - and there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between any of them except for one unchanging, certain fact: the best, most skillful pilot has the most experience.

There's no such thing as a natural-born pilot.

Everybody that I've ever seen that enjoyed their job was very good at it.

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.

The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down.

Just before you break through the sound barrier, the cockpit shakes the most.

After about 30 minutes I puked all over my airplane. I said to my self, "Man, you made a big mistake."