meat-bomb n.— «When I was learning to parachute (or become a “meat-bomb,” as the pilots refer to it) the jump master told us that the horizon-wide landing zone (LZ) contained one object and one object only: a tree...
tabbing n.— «All of sudden a helicopter rises out of a valley, makes one pass over the landing site, before zeroing in and touching down.…They are returning after a night under the stars, tabbing, as they call it, around a dozen...
How about the phrase “on the ball”? A listener wonders if its origin derives from a landing maneuver on aircraft carriers. Does his theory hold water? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Origin of “On the...
raisin bomber n.— «On June 26, 1948, in response to the Soviet blockade, C-47s began landing millions of tons of food, coal and other supplies in an operation centered at Tempelhof. At its peak, the airlift landed planes every 90 seconds...
OLF n.— «Navy officials announced Tuesday that they were scrapping plans to build a remote airfield in Washington and Beaufort counties. Even longtime opponents were taken aback. Some had fought plans for the outlying landing...
landing gear v. phr.— «He plugs the air line, emergency line and electrical cables from the cab to the trailer, cranks up the “landing gear” that keeps the trailer moored to the ground, rechecks tags to make sure he’s got the...

