Chloe Holiday's new novel, Fly Boy, will release May 5th.

It’s almost time! Heartbreaker Boy’s release is May 4th, and Fly Boy lands May 5th! In the meantime, here’s a little Aviator Speak.

“Flying by the seat of your pants” is a term coined from the time that avionics weren’t widespread, so instead of gauging speed of ascent or descent by watching a needle rise or fall, a pilot judged this by the pressure on their own backside: feeling heavy meant climbing, and lighter meant a descent. It’s actually possible to lose contact with the seat in a fast descent, and there are videos of pilots with unbelted dogs in the backseat “floating” into the air.

“The pattern” is a big rectangle in the sky above an airport, sort of like a traffic circle, which dictates direction for aircraft taking off and landing. Each will have a specific direction (right or left) and altitude, some of which is dictated by obstructions like towers and trees, or buildings on the ground.

“Going around” means that a pilot who earlier told the tower they intended to land, has chosen to abort it, return to the pattern, and try again. It can be from a flock of birds in the vicinity, a sudden loss of nerve in the case of a student pilot, or concerns about a crosswind. It helps the tower know what to expect, so they can efficiently space traffic.

“Prop wash” isn’t cleaner! It refers to the backwash of wind generated by the prop, which can be enough to throw rocks or fling papers all over the interior of a hanger, if someone’s too close to an open door. It’s very rude to start up your plane when someone’s near the tail, or to aim your tail at buildings or vehicles.

“Two-for-one special”: Student pilots need to log each landing, but they’re not always smooth. Sometimes, a plane can bounce or “porpoise” up again, then settle. This can be dangerous on occasion, and hard on gear, and is not the smooth, “greaser” landings one desires. The student’s CFI might snarkily tell them, “Go ahead and log both of those landings.”

“Forced Landing” has such a nice ring compared to “crash landing,” no? This is something one never hopes to encounter, though part of the training is to practice, right up to the point of being close, and one learns the procedures for landing in fields, highways, water, and trees to maximize the chances of survival. Some planes now come with parachutes which help keep the plane from disintegrating on impact, increasing the survival odds for both plane and occupants.

“Ditch” means a water landing.

“Dead-stick landing” means one performed without engine power. An airplane is still a big glider, and can sometimes go for miles to find the safest spot to land, but this requires exquisite control to feather it in slow enough to stop in time, but fast enough not to pancake down in a dead stall. My very favorite, off all the practice maneuvers, was an “engine out” landing.

“Zulu” time is the same as Standard Greenwich Time. This is the universal time that military and civilian pilots use when they file a flight plan, listen to an ATIS report, etc.

“Flying the beam” means flying IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) along a directional beam, as opposed to “flying the needles,” which means the pilot is manually flying, watching the instruments.

“Pan-pan” said into the mic will cut all chatter: it’s just one step below the “mayday” call for a true emergency.

“George is flying the plane” means that the autopilot is on.

Want to put Fly Boy on autopilot? Here’s the links for the new releases:

Lexi Noir Heartbreaker Boy May 4 https://mybook.to/HeartbreakerBoy

Chloe Holiday Fly Boy May 5 https://tinyurl.com/ycy7nzre

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