aircraft handling part 7 aerobatics and formation flying

AIRCRAFT HANDLING

Part 7

Aerobatics and Formation Flying

Aerobatics

Aerobatics

Give pilots confidence in handling aircraft.

They gain experience at operating in different attitudes.

Pilots become accustomed to the high strainsand stress of combat flying.

Aerobatics

Before any aerobatic flying,a pilot must carry out his HASELL checks:

H

A

S

E

L

L

Height – sufficient to complete manoeuvre.

Airframe – Flaps and U/C UP, Airbrakes IN.

Security – Equipment stowed, harness locked and tight.

Engine – Temperatures, pressures & fuel sufficient.

Location – Airfields, built-up areas controlled airspace.

Lookout – clear of other aircraft & cloud (↔ & ↕)

AerobaticsAs you should already know,

an aircraft can be manoeuvred in three planes:

Pitching plane

Rolling plane Yawing

plane

AerobaticsThe simplest aerobatic manoeuvre

in the pitching plane is the loop.

Pitching plane

AerobaticsPilot aligns with linear feature – road, rail

Drop nose to increase speedKeep wings level

Pull up until horizon disappears, looking overhead for new horizon

AerobaticsThe simplest aerobatic manoeuvre

in the rolling plane is the barrel roll.

Rolling plane

AerobaticsDrop nose to increase speed

Pick point above horizon (cloud)Roll 45° away from banking direction

Roll in banking direction,with nose of aircraft pointing at point on horizon

AerobaticsIn the yawing plane

the only basic manoeuvre is the stall turn.

Yawing plane

AerobaticsNose up to 90°, decreasing speed

Apply rudder before wing stalls.

Aircraft falls sideways until nose is pointing downSpeed increases,

round out at the bottom.

AerobaticsThere are other manoeuvres . . .

The Slow Roll As a barrel roll, but slower

Roll off the Top ½ loop followed by barrel roll or slow roll at the top

½ Roll and Pull Through Barrel roll or slow roll followed by a ½ loop

AerobaticsThere are other manoeuvres . . .

The Upward Roll Pull up vertically, roll keepingwings straight.Often ends with stall turn

Aileron Turn A roll flown vertically downward

Hesitation Roll Either a 4 or 8 point roll,stopping briefly every 45° or 90°

Derry Roll A roll flown while inverted

AerobaticsThere are other manoeuvres . . .

Vertical Eight A ½ roll off the top, a full loopand a ½ roll and pull through.

AerobaticsThere are other manoeuvres . . .

Horizontal Eight A loop and a ½ roll, followed by another loop and ½ roll

A full roll on the first loop and½ roll into the second loop.

Cuban Eight

Inverted FlightAircraft flying inverted

appear to be flying with the nose well above the horizon.

Aircraft wings are less efficient inverted, so a higher angle of attack is required

for inverted straight and level flight.

α

Formation FlyingThe RAF’s definition of formation flying is:

‘An ordered arrangement of two or more aircraftproceeding together as an element.’

There are two types of formation flying:

Close TacticalTake-off & Landing

Cloud penetration

Show and Display flying

Used for all tactical fighter

operations

Formation FlyingThere are five standard section formations:

The VIC formationThink of the ‘V’ in Vic and invert it.

1

3 2

Formation FlyingThere are five standard section formations:

The ECHELON formation

1

3

2

Formation FlyingThere are five standard section formations:

LINE ABREAST

13 2

Formation FlyingThere are five standard section formations:

LINE ASTERN

1

3

2

Formation FlyingThere are five standard section formations:

The BOX formation

1

3 2

4

Formation FlyingThere are five standard section formations:

VIC formation

1

3 2

4

1

3 2 1

3

2

1

3

2

13 2

Line Abreast

Line Astern

Box formation

Echelon formation

Formation Technique

Relative speed – Air Speed Indicator (ASI)is the only method of judging speed

Apparent size – using the size of objects to judge distance – 6 miles to 3 miles isn’t obvious,

but 1 mile to ½ mile is.

Distance – Tendency to underestimate, comes with practise & experience

Formation Technique

Changes are always small & smooth

Longitudinal changes use throttle & elevatorsLateral changes use ailerons

Vertical changes use elevators

A clean aircraft:Accelerates quicklyDecelerates slowly

Acceleration is often poor at low speed in jet aircraft

The pilot uses a mnemonic to remember to carry out his checks. What is the mnemonic for aerobatics?

H A S A L L

H E S S E L

H A S S E L

H A S E L L

Check Understanding

In the diagram, the arrows indicate what plane of movement?

Pitching

Yawing

Rolling

Spinning

Check Understanding

What is the simplest aerobatic manoeuvre in the pitching plane?

Check Understanding

A stall turn

A loop

A barrel roll

A spin

What is the simplest aerobatic manoeuvrein the rolling plane?

A slow roll

A barrel roll

A stall turn

A spin

Check Understanding

What is the only basic aerobatic manoeuvre in the yawing plane?

Roll off the top

The stall turn

A spin

The upward roll

Check Understanding

In the diagram, what is represented by the angle shown?

The Angle of Incidence

The Angle of Attack

The High Climb Angle

The Low Climb Angle

Check Understanding

What formation is shown in this diagram?

Box

Vic

Echelon

Diamond

Check Understanding

What formation is shown in this diagram?

Check Understanding

Echelon

Box

Diamond

Card

What formation is shown in this diagram?

Diamond

Line astern

Line abreast

Echelon

Check Understanding

AIRCRAFT HANDLING

End of Presentation