seat of one's pants

DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.

in fly by the seat of one's pants, in the manner of a seat-of-the-pants flyer.

Quotations

1966

And they flew (as, indeed, they had to fly, for there were few aids to navigation) "by the seat of their pants."

1966

What [they] are trying to find out is why and how a good bush pilot can fly "by the seat of his pants."