touch-and-go

Standard training practice: the aircraft touches down, the pilot resets flap and trim, and it takes off again from the roll. It maximises the number of landings per hour of flying. At a general-aviation field a single circuit-training aircraft can give a spotter a dozen chances at the same shot in an afternoon.

Nearby in Aviation

• TCAS — An onboard system that watches nearby transponder-equipped traffic and tells the crew how to avoid a collision.
• thrust reverser — A mechanism that redirects engine thrust forward to help slow an aircraft after landing.
• traffic pattern — The standard rectangular path aircraft fly around a runway when operating visually.
• transponder — An onboard radio that replies to radar interrogation with the aircraft's code and, usually, its altitude.