penguin trainer

plural penguin trainers

1. UKhistoricalaeronauticsA machine resembling an aeroplane but unable to fly, used for training pilots.

   On its return to Hamble in 1930 the machine was equipped with twin metal floats and Mongoose engine as a penguin trainer for Air Service Training Ltd.

   1965, Aubrey Joseph Jackson, Avro Aircraft Since 1908, page 184

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   What the penguin trainers lacked in aerodynamic ability was more than made up in weight and strength, for it was their purpose to take all of the heavy shocks and general road work while the pilot was getting the feel of the controls.

   1930, Flying Magazine, volume 1, number 1, page 36