Definition
A flight conducted to transport an aircraft from one location to another, typically following a sale, lease, transfer, repositioning, or change of operator. The flight itself is the purpose; no passengers or revenue cargo are carried in the aviation business sense, and the pilot's task is simply to move the airframe to its new base or owner.
Plain English
Flying an airplane from where it is now to where it needs to be — for example, taking a newly purchased aircraft from the seller's airport to the buyer's home airport.
Context Anchor
Seen in air traffic control procedures. Pilots usually notice it when they are told to change to another frequency or when one controller coordinates with another controller about their flight.
Derivation
From 'deliver,' meaning to hand over or convey to a recipient. The aviation use is a direct extension of the commercial sense: the aircraft itself is the item being delivered.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures clear legal responsibility, avoids liability gaps, and confirms the aircraft meets airworthiness standards at the moment of transfer.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as physically transporting an aircraft to a buyer or destination. In this FAA context, it means air traffic control is passing responsibility for the aircraft to another controller or facility.
Example Sentence 1
After the sale closed, the pilot filed a flight plan for delivering the aircraft from Wichita to its new owner's hangar in Denver.
Example Sentence 2
After the final inspection the dealer completed the paperwork required for delivering the aircraft to its new owner.