hangar queen

plural hangar queens · alternative hangar-queen

1. idiomaticslangaeronauticsA grounded aircraft which is kept so that its parts can be used in other aircraft.

   In the Air Forces, "Hangar Queen" is not a proud title. It refers to any grounded plane which is being systematically "cannibalized" (stripped of its parts) so that other planes may fly.

   1944 January 10, “‘Hangar Queen’”, in Time, retrieved 12 Jul 2008

2. idiomaticslangaeronauticsAn aircraft which requires a great deal of regular maintenance and has an unfavorable ratio of maintenance time to flight time.

   [T]he F-35 . . . was not only meant to be an affordable fifth-generation fighter-bomber for the U.S. and her allies, but also to have lower maintenance costs than aircraft now in service. These claims may also turn out to be inaccurate, with the F-35 a potential hanger-queen like the F-22 Raptor.

   2011 October 30, Mark M. Miller, “Second thoughts about the F-35”, in Toronto Star, Canada, retrieved 30 Oct 2011, page A19