English

Etymology

French vol plané ‘gliding flight’.

Pronunciation

• /'vɒlpleɪn/

Noun

1. a steep, controlled dive, especially by an aircraft with the engine off

Verb

1. to make a volplane
   • 1973: Curtains of vapor drift back to reveal the Americans, volplaning along well inside ten meters and only a little faster than the balloon. — Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow

acrobatics, aerobatics, aeroplane, airlift, airplane, balloon, banking, be airborne, chandelle, crabbing, cruise, dive, diving, drift, ferry, fishtailing, flit, fly, glide, hop, hover, hydroplane, jet, navigate, nose dive, power dive, pull-up, pullout, pushdown, rolling, sail, sailplane, seaplane, sideslip, soar, spiral, stall, stunting, tactical maneuvers, take the air, take wing, wing, zoom