heavier-than-air

[ hev-ee-er-th uh n-air ]

/ ˈhɛv i ər ðənˈɛər /

(of an aircraft) weighing more than the air that it displaces, hence having to obtain lift by aerodynamic means.

Origin of heavier-than-air

First recorded in 1900–05

It was, without shadow of doubt, the last word in the science and manufacture of a heavier-than-air machine.

The Great Airship. |F. S. Brereton
The huge machine was christened the Langley after one of the early experimenters with the heavier-than-air machine.

The Romance of Aircraft |Lawrence Yard Smith
So far I have dealt with the future of commercial aronautics almost entirely in terms of heavier-than-air machines.

Flying the Atlantic in Sixteen Hours |Arthur Whitten Brown
"Well, my father had worked for years perfecting the plans of a heavier-than-air flying machine," Morris resumed.

Ashton-Kirk, Investigator |John T. McIntyre

Wright were experimenting with heavier-than-air machines, but general interest in the subject is quite recent.

Jane's All the World's Aircraft |Various

heavier-than-air

having a density greater than that of air

of or relating to an aircraft that does not depend on buoyancy for support but gains lift from aerodynamic forces