Crossword Genius

Pilot ace gets through on gaining height (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aviator

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

'pilot' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'ace gets through on gaining height' is the wordplay.
'ace' becomes 'a'.
'gets through' becomes 'via' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'gaining' says to put letters next to each other.
'height' becomes 'tor' (I've seen this before).
'a'+'via'+'tor'='AVIATOR'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aviator that I've seen before include "Airman" , "Pilot; style of sunglasses" , "Air pilot" , "Flyer, pilot" , "Aeronaut" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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