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.

I have no regrets about my life. People ask, "If you had to do it all over again, would you do it differently?" No. That's speculation.

I ran the astronaut school for six years, and I was the commandant and when I finished in '65, 26 of my guys went into space as NASA astronauts that I trained.

The best pilots fly more than the others; that's why they're the best.

Hey Ridley, that Machometer is acting screwy. It just went off the scale on me.

What good does it do to be afraid? It doesn't help anything. You better try and figure out what's happening and correct it.

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