Pilot's Ten Commandments

  1. Thou shalt abstain from the intersection takeoff for verily the runway behind thee, as the altitude above thee, cometh not to thine aid when thou needest them.
  2. Thou shalt not linger on active runways lest thou become like unto ground sirloin.
  3. Ignorest thou not thy checklists for many are the switches, handles, gauges and other demons awaiting to take cruel vengeance upon thee.
  4. Thou shalt cast thine eyes to thy right and also to thy left as thou passeth through the firmament lest thy fellow pilots bring flowers to thy widow and comfort her in other ways.
  5. Buzzeth not, for this shall surely incur the wrath of thy neighbors and the fury of the FAA shall be called down upon thy head.
  6. Thou shalt be ever mindful of thy fuel lest there be nothing in thy tank to sustain thee upon the air and thy days be made short.
  7. Trust not thine eyes to lead thee through the cloud lest the Archangel Gabriel await thee therein.
  8. Thou shalt not trespass into the thunderstorm lest the tempest rend the wings from thy chariot and cast thee naked into the firmament.
  9. Put not thy trust in weather prophets, for when the truth is not in, then they shall not accompany thee among thy ancestors.
  10. Often shalt thou confirm thine airspeed on final lest the earth rise up and smite thee.