Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sudden, steep climbing turn of an aircraft, executed to alter flight direction and gain altitude simultaneously.
  • intransitive verb To execute a chandelle.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb to perform a chandelle, as of an airplane.
  • noun (Aeronautics) an abrupt climbing turn made by an airplane, in which the plane's momentum is used to achieve a higher than normal rate of climb, without stalling the aircraft.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a flight maneuver consisting of a steep climbing turn executed to gain altitude while changing direction
  • verb climb suddenly and steeply

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from chandelle, candle, from Old French, from Latin candēla; see candle.]

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Examples

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  • The hot shots are flying pellmell

    And groundlings aren't able to tell:

    Was that trick more nimble than

    A flamboyant Immelmann

    Or more of a normal chandelle?

    June 7, 2017