dive brake
- noun
- Specialized
- Using the dive brake, he managed to reduce speed effectively before landing.
Examples
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The pilot deployed the dive brake to slow down the aircraft during the steep descent.
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You can tell due to the 4 X 20mm in the wings, but mainly the tiny dive brakes you can see as panels on the upper wing surface.
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JIM: Drop your dive brakes.
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The A-36 had visible dive brakes in the wings and six machine guns, not cannon!
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You can tell by the four 20mm cannons in the wings and the lack of dive brakes.
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An A-36 would have dive brakes and I don't have them on this Mustang.
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The Apache carried 6 .50 cal guns, underwing racks, and dive brakes.
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The design of this aircraft includes a dive brake that helps increase drag in high-speed maneuvers.
Synonyms
A large piece of strong cloth that fills with air and slows a person's fall
A device like a small parachute or flap that slows an aircraft while flying
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'dive' (a steep descent) with 'brake' (a device to slow or stop motion): a device used to slow a dive or reduce speed during descent. Although it's a technical aeronautical term, the noun-noun compounding follows ordinary English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Dive brake comes from a simple image: a device that opens like a small parachute or flap while a plane is in a steep dive, and the air pushing on it works like a brake to slow the plane. That's why a dive brake is a part used to 'reduce speed' during steep descents.