Plain English Meaning

You fly figure-eight loops over the ground, with one loop on each side of a road. You cross the road straight across between loops, and you bank more or less as you go around to keep the wind from squashing the shape.

Full Definition

A ground reference maneuver in which the airplane flies a series of figure-eight patterns, with the two loops of each eight lying on opposite sides of a straight road or similar line on the ground. The airplane crosses the road at right angles between loops, and the pilot adjusts bank angle throughout each loop to compensate for wind drift so that both loops remain symmetrical and equal in size.

Context Anchor

You encounter this term in ground-reference maneuver training, usually during at a safe training over a clearly visible straight road.