preflight

adj

1. (not-comparable)Taking place before the start of a flight.
2. (not-comparable)Serving to confirm that requests can be accepted, before sending an actual request.

   “a CORS preflight request”

noun

1. An inspection of an aircraft before the start of a flight.
2. The portion of the movement after launching from the springboard but before pushing off the vault.

   “Between the preflight and postflight is the block, a rapid motion in which the gymnast’s hands hit the vault and she pushes herself off, converting the horizontal momentum from her sprint down the runway into vertical momentum.”

verb

1. To perform an inspection of an aircraft before the start of a flight.