When aviators speak of George flying the plane, they mean it’s on autopilot. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Let George Fly The Plane” Airline language has always interested me. There’s a lingo about the...
On a recent episode of Mad Men, a character said “keep me in the loop.” Was that phrase really around in the 1960s? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “In the Loop” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is...
A former naval flight officer wonders how the term cockpit ever came to mean the part of the aircraft where pilots sit. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Origin of Plane Cockpit” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi...
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...
Why do aviators say roger to indicate they’ve received a message? A pilot phones the show about that, wilco, and similar language. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pilot Language “Roger”” Hello, you...
Zach, an F-18 instructor pilot calling from China Lake, California, asks whether deconflict is really a word. In aviation, it means to remove a possible conflict, such as assigning different altitudes or positions so two aircraft can share a piece...