Spelling when abandoning an aeroplane

[Genghis the Engineer]

A silly question which a colleague came up with yesterday...

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

Both spellings seem in use, so which, if either, is correct, and why?

G

[Background Noise]

Bail - same as 'bail'ing someone or something out (of a problem) or bailing out water or bail (as in court).

[treadigraph]

Both spellings are perfectly acceptable according to my Collins Concise.

I've always thought of it as "bale out" both aquatically and aeronautically but I honestly couldn't say why!

Maybe we should stick to "hitting the silk"! We should be safe with that so long as it's not taken to mean thumping a QC.

[Groundloop]

Shurely parachutes are not still made from silk?

[airmuster]

It always has concerned me why people would ever want to jump out of a perfectly well running aircraft,....... unless of course it was already on terra firma.

Bale.... Nah reminds me of wool and hay bales
Bail.... like bail me out of jail...... seems better

[treadigraph]

Shurely parachutes are not still made from silk?

Ok then, "She's going in, I'm hitting the nylon"...

[Whirlygig]

I'd go with "bailing" out, rather than "baling out"!

Cheers

Whirls

[henry crun]

One of my dictionaries says that Bale is a variant of Bail, and another says Bale: to Bale Out; to abandon an aeroplane in the air and descend by parachute.

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!]

isn't it spelled p-u-n-c-h now?

[Gargleblaster]

"Shurely parachutes are not still made from silk?"

Stop calling me Shirley !

[HighTow]

It always has concerned me why people would ever want to jump out of a perfectly well running aircraft

As the saying goes, "Don't leave the ship until the ship leaves you"

[SNS3Guppy]

It always has concerned me why people would ever want to jump out of a perfectly well running aircraft,

There's no such thing as a perfectly good aircraft. Just a perfectly good parachute.

[B747-800]

There's no such thing as a perfectly good aircraft. Just a perfectly good parachute.

And a perfect pilot, too. Only airplanes are making mistakes!

[treadigraph]

Now how about a bale (or bail) in?

Remember those sequences at the start of one of the James Bond films where 007 motorcyles off the edge of a cliff in pursuit of a Piliotless Porter and freefalls alongside as it dives vertically and in through the door?

I know Mark Hanna was involved with the film, but I've no idea if he flew that particular sequence.

[India Four Two]

In my Chipmunk days, I was told that the important thing was to be able to read and correctly interpret the words "Follow Me" on the soles of the QFI's boots

[Centaurus]

Extract from my Pilot's Notes (Second edition) for Sea Fury 10 &11. A.P 4018A & B. Promulgated for information and guidance of all concerned by command of their Lordships. See Part IV Page 54 paragraph 79.
Baling Out.

The aircraft may be abandoned as follows:- Leave the cockpit head first over the port side, diving downwards towards the trailing edge of the main-plane and keeping the body as compact as possible.

etc etc.

[Davetron]

If I'm jumping out, the last thing on my mind would be spelling!

[jabberwok]

If I'm jumping out, the last thing on my mind would be spelling!

Is aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh correct?

[Paracab]

Reminds of the pre-flight brief between fast jet driver and someone going for an experience flight I once read about.

Nervous pax - "What should I say if I have to eject?"

Jet Jock - "Whatever you like, I won't 'kin be here"

Probably urban legend regurgitated for the millionth time, but made me smile.

[albatross]

Jet Jock to pax: "If we have to eject you will hear: "Eject, Eject, Eject". I highly advise you to go on the first one because the last two will be echos."