Aerotow

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A technique employed for launching an unpowered flying machine by being towed into the air by a powered aircraft before it can fly independently
2. A procedure that enables a glider or other unpowered aircraft to ascend by being towed aloft by a powered aircraft for takeoff
3. The method of getting a glider airborne by pulling it into the sky using a powered plane

Etymology: "Aerotow" is a plain compound: "aero-", from Greek "aēr" meaning air, joined to "tow," the familiar English verb for pulling something along by a rope or cable. Put together, the name describes exactly what happens: a glider is hauled through the air by a powered aircraft until it has gained enough height to fly on its own. The word belongs to the practical vocabulary of gliding, where it names the common launch method in which the towing aircraft and glider take off together, climb in formation, and then release the line once the glider is airborne. Its parts are transparent, so the term needs little explanation beyond the picture it paints.