A barn find is a classic car that has been discovered after being stored for a long period in a place such as a barn or shed. The term also applies to similarly stored motorcycles and aircraft. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “A...
To lose the bubble means “to lose track” or “lose one’s bearings,” and refers to the bubble in an inclinometer on an airplane or ship, much like the bubble in a carpenter’s level. It’s described in detail in Gene Rochlin’s Trapped in the Net: The...
Back in the 1930s, airplane pilots didn’t have sophisticated instruments to tell them which way was up. When flying through clouds, they literally relied on changes in the vibrations in their seat to help them stay on course, flying by the seat of...
cow’s head
n.— «Cow’s head: Refuel coupling on an aircraft.» —“Airport Lingo” by Raphael Sheffield Southwest Airlines Blog/Nuts About Southwest Dec. 10, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
SUV of the sky n.— «Small private planes known as “very light jets,” or VLJs, are starting to show up in the sky and on the tarmacs of small local airports.…Displays of the aircraft, called the “SUVs of the sky,” drew scores of curious aviation...
armchair pilot n. a person who talks about, studies, or directs airplane flying, but is not qualified to, or does not, handle the controls; an aviation enthusiast. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)