Plain English Meaning

The strong pull to take off or keep flying when you really shouldn't, usually because you've already committed to the trip in your head.

Full Definition

An informal aviation term for the self-imposed pressure to depart or continue a flight despite conditions, fatigue, or other factors that would normally prompt a pilot to delay or cancel. It describes the mindset in which the urge to 'just go' overrides sound aeronautical decision-making.

Context Anchor

Seen in preflight decision-making, especially when using the PAVE checklist under External Pressures.

Derivation

A made-up word combining the casual phrase 'let's go' with the suffix '-itis,' which in medicine means an inflammation or condition (as in arthritis or appendicitis). The joking implication is that the urge to depart has become a kind of ailment affecting 's .