BOB n.— «A United Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles turned back after a note reading “B-O-B” was found on a sick bag in a toilet. The captain decided the note could have meant “bomb on board.” But airline...
rat-racing n.— «The Mansfield Thunderbirds model plane club expects to send about 20 members to compete in stunt and rat-racing events to be sponsored in Cleveland May 7 by the Cleveland Stunt Men.» —“Model Club to...
paper airplane n.— «Aviation has a long history of what people call “paper airplanes”—some guy comes along who’s going to build a new plane that goes 1,000 miles an hour and only costs $200 to fly, and he raises money and is...
chalk n.— «The evening before the flight I was informed, joy of joys, that I would be the movement commander for one plane load of soldiers (in military parlance a “chalk”).» —“Out Of Washington” by...
bag drag n.— «Sometimes if you have a 20 or 30 minute turn in a city, somebody on the crew will make a food run to the terminal. If you’re lucky, you stay with one plane all day. If not, you’ve got a bag drag from one end of the airport...
unass v.— «Airmobile assaults were both exciting and frightening. Each one was a gut-churning event not dissimilar to the moment before you unassed a plane with a parachute on your back.» —“Misfortunes of war: ‘About Face’—David H...