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"To fly by the seat of one’s pants" does mean "to do a job the best you can by instinct, training, or experience, without outside aid or instruction," and seems to have been popularized during World War II, though the phrase itself is probably a bit older. It originally meant to fly an airplane either without the aid of instruments (compass, airspeed, altimeter, radio direction finder, etc.) or when instruments were of little or no use in fog or other bad weather. "Flying by the seat of one’s pants" in such a situation would mean that the pilot’s experience and "feel" for the aircraft (including the actual vibrations, etc. sensed in his seat) would have to substitute for instrument data to guide the aircraft safely. /www.word-detective.com/111703.html

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