Richard Bach

My airplane is quiet, and for a moment still an alien, still a stranger to the ground, I am home.

— 'Stranger to the Ground,' 1963.

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .

To put your life in danger from time to time... breeds a saneness in dealing with day-to-day trivialities.

—  'Slide Rule: The Autobiography of an Engineer.'