obie, I'm more than happy to explain, but not sure whether you want the analogy explained or the bit after, so I'll do both.
An analogy is a similarity or parallelism.
The guy being up to his butt in alligators tends to forget why he's there because he panics.
Pilots aren't dissimilar; believe it or not, we do panic from time to time, and let me assure you, when I had an explosive decompression at FL390, I did experience a moment of panic. That panic was probably associated, in a small way, with the sensation that my guts was going to end up on the floor, and it wasn't going to be through my mouth!
However, what pilots have going for them is bags of (hopefully good) training, so after that instant of panic, the training kicks in and they do what is necessary, but in a critical situation if not performed accurately, it can be over in an instant.
There you are, the old analogy about the alligators, which, incidentally, is as old as aviation itself (may have been coined by Wilbur or Orville) explained. I'm surprised you haven't come across it previously.
I first saw it whilst at Air North where a wag put one of those up on the whiteboard every morning.
Another was
Working here is like being a pubic hair on a toilet seat; sooner or later you'll get pissed off.
Now I'm not going to explain that one to you!
This has evolved into a good thread, way off topic at times, but I bet there are people learning a lot from this about turbo props and their operation.
Last edited by relax737; 26th Mar 2010 at 00:02.