The ten commandments of flying an airplane.
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 altitude and thine airspeed
lest the earth rise up and smite thee.
