Plain English Meaning
You land, keep rolling, and take off again right away — all on the same runway pass. It lets a student practice many landings without taxiing back each time.
Full Definition
A training maneuver in which the aircraft lands, rolls along the runway briefly, and then takes off again without coming to a full stop. Used to practice multiple landings and takeoffs in a single flight session.
Context Anchor
Commonly used in flight training to practice repeated landings and takeoffs in the traffic pattern.
Derivation
The name describes the maneuver literally: the wheels touch the runway, then the aircraft goes again — without stopping in between.
Why Pilots Care
Allows efficient repetition of both landing and takeoff skills in a single circuit, conserving time and fuel while building proficiency.
Grounding Statement
A touch-and-go is one continuous exercise: land, keep rolling, add power, and take off again.
Intuition Check
Touch-and-go does not mean the landing is casual, rushed, or unsafe. Here it means a planned training maneuver where the aircraft lands and immediately takes off again.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor planned an hour of touch-and-go landings to sharpen the student's flare timing.
Example Sentence 2
After several touch-and-go landings the pilot completed a full-stop landing to exit the runway.