A few Good Pilots
If you saw A Few Good Men........ A Few Good Pilots
Captain: "You want answers?"
Chief Pilot: "I think we are entitled"
Captain: "You want answers?!"
Chief Pilot: "I want the truth!"
Captain: "You can't handle the truth!!!"
Captain (continuing): "We live in a world that requires revenue.
That revenue must be flown by people with elite skills. Who's going to do it?
You, Mr. CEO? You Mr.. Finance? You, Ms. Human Resources? We have a greater
responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You scoff at the Line Pilots and you
curse our mediocre incentives. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not
knowing what we know. And my very existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you,
drives REVENUE! You don't want to know the truth because deep
down in places you don't talk about at staff meetings, you want me in that airplane.
You NEED me in that airplane!!
We use words like working radar, good weather, on time departure, airworthiness, upgrade,
FED ride, NASA Report, ASAP Report, commuting, another round, medium-rare, on-the-rocks, Cohiba.
We use these words as the backbone of all Professional Aviation. You use them as a punch line!
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to people who rise and sleep under the
very blanket of service I provide and then question the manner in which I provide it.
I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a
flight bag. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!"
Chief Pilot: "Did you expense the lap dancers?"
Captain: "I did the job I was hired to do."
Chief Pilot: "Did you expense the lap dancers?!"
Captain: "You're goddamn right I did!"