Crossword Genius

A sweet girl meets knight who takes flight? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

airman

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'takes flight?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how they can define each other.

'a sweet girl meets knight' is the wordplay.
'sweet girl' becomes 'irma' (I am not sure about the 'sweet' bit.).
'meets' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'knight' becomes 'n' (chess abbreviation).
'a'+'irma'+'n'='AIRMAN'

'who' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for airman that I've seen before include "crew member" , "Aviator" , "Male flyer" , "Flier" , "He flies" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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