"The Guide says that there is an art to flying,” said Ford, “or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
— Douglas Adams

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."
— Leonardo da Vinci

"His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred. Later he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly any more because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless."
— Ernest Hemingway

"The secret of flight is this: you have to do it immediately, before your body realizes it is defying the laws."
— Michael Cunningham

"Other men look up and down, left and right; but men like us are different. We are visionaries."
— Eoin Colfer (Airman)

"A single radio post still heard him. The only link between him and the world was a wave of music, a minor modulation. Not a lament, no cry, yet purest of sounds that ever spoke despair."
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Night Flight)

"Like officer Dave.He's never said much about his life, but I can tell he's scarred. And he knows I'm scarred too. The wounded always recognize the wounded. We can smell each other.

"
— Sherman Alexie

"It is a matter of life and death for us; for the lead we gain by day on ships and railways is lost each night."
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Night Flight)

"He imagines a necessary joy in things that must fly to eat."
— Wendell Berry