Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 8, 2018 17:57:01 GMT 12
From the NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 20 MAY 1916,
LANGUAGE OF THE AIR.
PILOTS' QUEER SLANG.
AN AIRMAN'S ERROR
As in other walks in life, during the last few months a slang has sprung into being in aeronautical circles. "Quirk," for instance, is the term used in the Naval Air Service to denote a young gentleman just learning to fly. His brother-in-arms in the Royal Flying Corps is a '"Hun." The "joy-stick "is that wonderful contraption which at one and the same time controls both the upward, downward, and sideway movement of the aeroplane.
Some of the crack pilots, instead of leaving the ground in a respectable, God-fearing manner — that is to " taxi " - run the machine across the ground without allowing the wheels of the aeroplane to leave it for about fifty yards, then to rise gradually at an angle of some 15 degrees with the earth — "zumming" their machine. Which latter feat is directly upon leaving the ground to climb at an angle of at least 45 degrees.
To "pancake" is for a machine to fall flat to the earth. Nose-dive is when it comes down nose first. A "tail-slide" is when it falls backwards. A "spin" is perhaps the most unpleasant sensation possible in midair. It usually occurs after over-banking, with the result that the aeroplane spins round like a top, and finally crashes to the earth.
When an airman says of the air that it is "bumpy" he means that it is full of patches of rarified air, which cause the aeroplane to rock and to toss like a boat in a stormy sea. An airman never talks through his hat. Such a thing were a physical impossibility. He does not possess a hat. For that portion of his attire he always refers to as a "grummet."
"Pylon Pilots."
An aeroplane man will always contemptuously refer to an airship as a "gas-bag." Such a thing as a trip in the air is never spoken of, but rather as "going for a joy-ride" or as "doing a stunt."
"Crashing" is the delicate art of bringing the machine rapidly to earth and smashing something, usually quite a lot!
A " pylon pilot" is a gentleman who prefers flying before a large and admiring crowd. And finally it would be considered an indignity to refer to an aeroplane as anything else than a "bus." Among some of the pet names for buses are the "bloater" and the "Bristol-bullet."
LANGUAGE OF THE AIR.
PILOTS' QUEER SLANG.
AN AIRMAN'S ERROR
As in other walks in life, during the last few months a slang has sprung into being in aeronautical circles. "Quirk," for instance, is the term used in the Naval Air Service to denote a young gentleman just learning to fly. His brother-in-arms in the Royal Flying Corps is a '"Hun." The "joy-stick "is that wonderful contraption which at one and the same time controls both the upward, downward, and sideway movement of the aeroplane.
Some of the crack pilots, instead of leaving the ground in a respectable, God-fearing manner — that is to " taxi " - run the machine across the ground without allowing the wheels of the aeroplane to leave it for about fifty yards, then to rise gradually at an angle of some 15 degrees with the earth — "zumming" their machine. Which latter feat is directly upon leaving the ground to climb at an angle of at least 45 degrees.
To "pancake" is for a machine to fall flat to the earth. Nose-dive is when it comes down nose first. A "tail-slide" is when it falls backwards. A "spin" is perhaps the most unpleasant sensation possible in midair. It usually occurs after over-banking, with the result that the aeroplane spins round like a top, and finally crashes to the earth.
When an airman says of the air that it is "bumpy" he means that it is full of patches of rarified air, which cause the aeroplane to rock and to toss like a boat in a stormy sea. An airman never talks through his hat. Such a thing were a physical impossibility. He does not possess a hat. For that portion of his attire he always refers to as a "grummet."
"Pylon Pilots."
An aeroplane man will always contemptuously refer to an airship as a "gas-bag." Such a thing as a trip in the air is never spoken of, but rather as "going for a joy-ride" or as "doing a stunt."
"Crashing" is the delicate art of bringing the machine rapidly to earth and smashing something, usually quite a lot!
A " pylon pilot" is a gentleman who prefers flying before a large and admiring crowd. And finally it would be considered an indignity to refer to an aeroplane as anything else than a "bus." Among some of the pet names for buses are the "bloater" and the "Bristol-bullet."