Athene Airheart's definitions

groundlings

People who are stuck on the ground all the time.

A non-pilot.

Someone who can't fly.

Also, Groundhog.

"Wow, look at all those groundlings! It's too nice a day to be stuck down there!"

by Athene Airheart March 14, 2004

touch-and-go

Pilot's jargon for a practice landing. You land the plane long enough to roll the wheels on the runway, then apply full power and take off again. Used to practice many landings in a short time.

"I did 8 touch-and-goes today, and boy was that crosswind rough! Any coffee around here?"

by Athene Airheart March 19, 2004

text me

An invitation for text messaging over the Internet. A phrase that is sometimes found on more modern conversation hearts.

"Hey, text me sometime," said Joe as he passed Sally in the hallway.

by Athene Airheart May 15, 2004

Conversation hearts

A type of inexpensive candy found at Valentine's Day. They are in the shape of small pastel-colored hearts with short messages printed on them in red ink.

Some messages might include "love you," "kiss me," "U R fine," "be mine," etc. More modern candies also include "e-mail me," or "text me."

Sally was very happy when Joe gave her a box of conversation hearts.

by Athene Airheart May 15, 2004

pancake

The landing of an aircraft, used in military jargon of WWII. Generally a rather flat landing that hard and not too good for the airplane.

A landing like this is referred to as "pancaking it in."

"Wow, he really pancaked his Corsair in! I'm surprised the landing gear are still intact!"

by Athene Airheart March 19, 2004

spin

A rather uncomfortable aeronautical maneuver. When in an airplane, if you fly too slow and the wing gets to the wrong angle in relation to the relative wind, you will stall. If the rudder is moved in the wrong way during that stall, the airplane will turn and go into a spin.

Part of a pilot's training is to learn how to get out of stalls and spins, as they can be deadly if not stopped.

Man, I'm gonna hurl. I did eight spins today and I'm really getting dizzy. Can we go do some other maneuver next time?

by Athene Airheart May 15, 2004

aircraft

Any device that flies. An airplane is an example of an aircraft, as are helicopters, dirigibles, gliders and balloons.

Every aircraft needs an aviator or pilot to fly it.

"That Cessna is one fine looking hunk of aircraft!"

by Athene Airheart March 20, 2004