Spelling when abandoning an aeroplane

[henry crun]

Another variation.

"If I say eject, don't say what ? 'cos you'll be talking to yourself".

[Gargleblaster]

should you be unlucky enough to have to jump out of an aeroplane, would you "bail out" or "bale out"?

I shall think of nothing else in my potentially final moment, while my relatively uninteresting life passes by, before jumping out of that burning wreck. Did I bail or bale out ? Did I survive because I spelt it this way or the other ? No, I would survive because my lucky number is '7'.

Anyhow, parachuters will know this much better than me, they do it all the time. I will never ever jump out of an airplane unless it's uncontrollable and exitable and I have a suitable device strapped on my back.

[Double Zero]

My briefing for a ride in G-Hawk was indeed " I'll say eject three times; the third one will be an echo !"

A variation of the message on the pilot's boots was the tradition of scribing on a chum's wedding shoes to say " Help Me ! " when kneeling at the altar.

From personal experience I'd rather take my chances with Martin-Baker...

DZ

[LowNSlow]

bail or bale
To bail someone out is to provide cash to get them out of prison, or more generally to help them out of a difficult situation, especially a financial one: I had to borrow £500 to bail John out; If you hadn't bailed me out last year I don't know what I would have done. To bail water out is to scoop it out with a bucket or other container: We bailed out the water that was coming into the boat. To bale out is to jump from an aircraft: The pilot had to bale out when the engine failed. However, bail is also used in this last sense, especially in the US: The pilot bailed out.

Well that's what tiscali reckon anyway. I prefer bail. Bale brings back memories of backbreaking work throwing large lumps of bound grass onto a trailer.......

[Fareastdriver]

Bale brings back memories of backbreaking work throwing large lumps of bound grass onto a trailer.......

Lumps of packaged cloth or clothes are called bales too. It could be argued that the silk, as it used to be, packed into a parachute harness could be described as a bale.

[Saab Dastard]

Would you describe the event of leaving the aircraft before it had landed (and somewhat against your will) as a "baleful experience"?

I'll get my anorak...

SD