SKYDIVING & OTHER SPORTS :

IDIOM: free fall

MEANING 1: The period during a jump before the parachute is opened.
SENTENCE 1: The parachutist had a free fall of twenty-five seconds before he opened his parachute.

MEANING 2: to drop or fall very rapidly
SENTENCE 2: The U.S.S.R.'s economy took afree fall in 1991.

IDIOM: get something off the ground

MEANING 1: to" take-off " or leave the ground (The engine is already started and the plane is on the runway.)
SENTENCE 1: The children get their model plane off the ground.

MEANING 2: to have begun something and be on the way to a successful conclusion or completion
SENTENCE 2: If you don't get your work done, this project won't get off the ground.

IDIOM: take-off , fly

MEANING 1: "take-off": the plane leaves the ground and is in the air; "fly": the plane is in the air
SENTENCE 1: With Rebecca in charge, this plan will take-off . With Harry in charge, this plan will fly.

MEANING 2: (Same as "to get something off the ground" ie, to be on the way to a successful conclusion)
SENTENCE 2: If you don't get your work done, this project won't take-off . Flying was a sport before it was a means of transportation.

IDIOM: tailspin

MEANING 1: Theback or "tail" of the plane drops and starts spinning
SENTENCE 1: The plane went into a tailspin before the pilot bailed out.

MEANING 2: to drop or fall rapidly ( as above in "nosedive"); to be anxious or extremely concerned
SENTENCE 2: When I lost my job, my budget went into a tailspin. He went into a tailspin when his secretary said she was quitting.

IDIOM: nose dive

MEANING 1: The front or "nose" of the plane drops perpendicular to the ground
SENTENCE 1: The plane went into a nose dive before the pilot bailed out.

MEANING 2: to drop or fall rapidly
SENTENCE 2: The U.S.S.R.'s economy went into a nose dive in 1991.