Meaning & use
chandelle
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A steep climbing turn in an aircraft that gains height while changing direction by about 180 degrees, finishing at low speed.
Grammar: Countable: a chandelle, two chandelles.
Patterns
- perform a chandelle
The instructor asked the student pilot to perform a chandelle at a safe altitude.
A good chandelle needs smooth control of the bank and the pitch.
He practiced each chandelle until his heading was exact.
verbtransitive or intransitivetechnicalrare
To perform this steep climbing turn in an aircraft.
Grammar: Used with or without an object: she chandelled the plane, or the plane chandelled.
Patterns
- chandelle upward
The pilot chandelled the small plane up and around to head back to the airfield.
At the air show, the aircraft chandelled sharply and disappeared into the clouds.
Word forms
| plural | chandelles |
|---|---|
| third person singular | chandelles |
| past tense | chandelled |
| past participle | chandelled |
| -ing form | chandelling |
Common combinations
- perform a chandelle
- Students must perform a chandelle during the flight test.
- a steep chandelle
- The stunt pilot started with a steep chandelle.
- chandelle maneuver
- The chandelle maneuver tests how well a pilot controls speed.
- practice chandelles
- They practice chandelles over open farmland.
Synonyms and how they differ
- climbing turn
- Climbing turn is the plain description, but a chandelle is a specific, precisely defined maneuver with set stages.
- wingover
- A wingover is a different maneuver that trades speed for a turn without a sustained climb, while a chandelle gains height.
Word family
- lazy eight noun
- another pilot training maneuver, often taught alongside the chandelle
- maneuver noun
- a planned movement of an aircraft or vehicle
Commonly confused: chandelle or chandelier?
chandelle vs chandelier
A chandelier is a decorative hanging light with many bulbs or candles. A chandelle is a flying maneuver.
Practice
A chandelle is best described as what?
Choose one answer.
A chandelle is a climbing turn used in flight training. The hanging light is a chandelier, and the other options describe different flying situations.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chandelle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.