sb. [Orig. two words, vol plane, properly vol plané, f. F. vol flight + plané, pa. pple. of planer PLANE v.2] A dive, descent or downward flight at a steep angle on the part of an aeroplane under control, and with the engine stopped or shut off.
1910. in Hamel & Turner, Flying (1914), 17. The ‘vol plané,’ or aerial dive.
1911. Grahame-White & Harper, Aeroplane, 121. He was diving down from an altitude of about 1,000 feet. It was not a vol plane that he was making, as he had his engine running.
Hence Volplane v. intr., to make a volplane.
1911. Daily News, 21 July, 1. He volplaned from about 200 feet to 20 feet of the ground, which he skimmed for about a hundred yards.
