volplane

American  

[vol-pleyn] / ˈvɒlˌpleɪn /

verb (used without object)

volplaned, volplaning

1. to glide toward the earth in an airplane, with no motor power or with the power shut off.

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noun

1. a glide in an airplane.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• volplanist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of volplane

1905–10; < French vol plané glided flight, equivalent to vol flight (noun derivative of voler < Latin volāre to fly) + plané, past participle of planer to glide ( see plane ¹)

Example Sentences

Meanwhile Sir Alan Cobham had been forced by a faulty spark plug to volplane to earth near Nuneaton.

From Time Magazine Archive

Turning again, he concluded to pass between two of the pinnacles, and immediately volplane down on the other side.

From The Boy Scouts on the Yukon by Mencl, Rudolf

We both noticed a large, apparently smooth field, and the final volplane began.

From The Boy Volunteers with the French Airman by Ward, Kenneth

The A.P. began to reel in the trailing length of wireless aerial, while the pilot, shutting off the motor, began a spiral volplane towards the surface of the water.

From Billy Barcroft, R.N.A.S. A story of the Great War by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

It did not take long to complete the volplane, although the pilot nursed his machine to the best of his ability in the hope of prolonging the oblique descent.

From The Airship "Golden Hind" by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)