mowing the lawn
n.— «Maritime patrol planes fly a grid pattern over the search area, guided by GPS. They fly in parallel swaths over the ocean, in a process that pilots refer to as “mowing the lawn.” Flying at an altitude of 600 metres or less, pilots and crew watch for surface debris and fuel slicks.» —“How the hunt for the missing airliner will unfold” by Peter Cheney Globe and Mail (Canada) June 3, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Humpty-Bump Pull Top, Diamond Loop, Reverse Shark’s Tooth, Hammerhead, and Goldfish from the Top are all names of aerobatic maneuvers recorded in the Aresti System, designed by Spanish aviator Jose Luis de Aresti Aguirre as a means of...
When the pressure drops in an airplane cabin and all the oxygen masks fall, pilots refer to all that equipment hanging down as a rubber jungle. This is part of a complete episode.
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