Glider pilot here too.
I like the etymology of "bought the farm" wherein you used to owe the farmer whatever price he asked after damaging his field. Of course, an SR71 will probably involve 5 or 10 fields, but still.
I like the etymology of "bought the farm" wherein you used to owe the farmer whatever price he asked after damaging his field. Of course, an SR71 will probably involve 5 or 10 fields, but still.
When this happens, there are usually only two kinds of farmers. Those that comes running with a shotgun demanding compensation for destroyed crop. Then there are those that comes with a camera and just want a picture of them with the pilot that landed on their field.
> There are a few suggested derivations for the phrase. One, put forward in a 1955 edition of American Speech, is the idea that when a jet crashes on a farm the farmer may sue the government for compensation. That would generate a large enough amount of money to pay off the farm's mortgage. Hence, the pilot paid for the farm with his life.
Etymology is tough historic recreation, but it seems as plausible as the others suggested by your article.