FLYING by the seat of my britches

Monday, 08 July 2013

10:28:38

fly by the seat of one's pants

English

(idiomatic) To pilot an aircraft without the aid of instruments and without a flight plan, using only instinct, visual observation, and practical judgment.  

[quotations ]

1955 Feb. 21, "Planes for Pleasure," Time:

Between world wars, when Douglas Bader was a cocky, teen-age R.A.F. cadet . . .

… a man could navigate by eye and the nearest railroad track and fly by the seat of his pants …

(idiomatic, by extension) To use one's judgment, initiative, and perceptions as events unfold in order to improvise a course of action without a predetermined plan.

Source : http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fly_by_the_seat_of_one's_pants

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Wednesday, 3 July 2013

13:33:58

Flying by the seat of my britches.

Fly by the seat of one's pants

Meaning

Decide a course of action as you go along, using your own initiative and perceptions rather than a pre-determined plan or mechanical aids.

Origin

This is early aviation parlance. Aircraft initially had few navigation aids and flying was accomplished by means of the pilot's judgment. The term emerged in the 1930s and was first widely used in reports of Douglas Corrigan's flight from the USA to Ireland in 1938.

That flight was reported in many US newspapers of the day, including this piece, titled 'Corrigan Flies By The Seat Of His Pants', in The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 19th July 1938:

"Douglas Corrigan was described as an aviator 'who flies by the seat of his pants' today by a mechanic who helped him rejuvinate the plane which airport men have now nicknamed the 'Spirit of $69.90'.

The old flying expression of 'flies by the seat of his trousers' was explained by Larry Conner, means going aloft without instruments, radio or other such luxuries."

he went thataway ... 

Douglas Corrigan-Wrongway Corrigan

Video- Corrigan Brothers

www.corriganbrothers.com

Two days before this report Corrigan had submitted a flight plan to fly from Brooklyn to California. He had previously had a plan for a trans-Atlantic flight rejected (presumably on the grounds that the 'Spirit of $69.60 wasn't considered up to the job). His subsequent 29 hour flight ended in Dublin, Ireland. He claimed that his compasses had failed. He didn't openly admit it but it was widely assumed that he had ignored the rejection of his flight plan and deliberately flown east rather than west. He was thereafter known as 'Wrong Way Corrigan' and starred as himself in the 1938 movie The Flying Irishman.

The 'old flying expression' quoted above (although it can't have been very old in 1938) that refers to trousers rather than pants does suggest that the phrase was originally British and crossed the Atlantic (the right way) prior to becoming

'flies by the seat of one's pants'.

Source : http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/139400.html

Charlie Landsborough ~ If Only I Had Wings



by BloodbathThrust 49 views

Published on 7 Feb 2013

Video from The Tiglax - Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

Song "If Only I Had Wings by Charlie Landsborough

http://www.charlielandsborough.com/

If only I had wings

I'd let the air release my mind

And leave my worries far behind

And let the silent oceans of the sky's

Wash every grain of sorrow from my eyes

If only I had wings

I'd fly beyond the rainbows door

In search of heavens stardust shore

Where long forgotten dreams

will all come true

Beyond the mellow oceans tender blue

I'm flying,

up where the eagle reigns

I'm flying,

leaving behind my chains

If only I had wings

upon the breeze I'd lay my soul

And let God's hand take full control

And sing my hearts surrender to his love

Forever to the moon and stars above

I'm flying,

up where the eagle reigns

I'm flying,

And let the silent oceans of the sky's

Wash every grain of sorrow from my eyes

If only I had wings.......

If only I had wings.......

Nga mihi

Thank you for joining  us today!

 

Nga mihi

Thank you for joining us today