Flight Simulator X - Aircraft acrobatics!

Aircraft acrobatics!

Wednesday, 11 January 2006

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3. Immelman [ Difficulty:]

The immelman in an interesting maneuver, used to reverse direction of flight back in the World War I. We basically need to perform a half-loop immediately followed by a half-roll, which will result in flying exactly in the opposite direction of entry. Start a half-loop using the same procedure of a full loop; everything works just like it, but this time throttle stays at maximum and level flight must be achieved on the top of the loop - we're not going down this time! As soon as the half-loop is complete, start a half-roll by fully deflecting the ailerons to the left/right - that will make you fly straight and level again, but at a higher altitude and with opposite heading! You can somewhat control the final altitude or speed by changing the half-loop radius. This maneuver might look simple, but a perfect immelman requires that the half loop is completed exactly above the point of commencement and that the half-roll commences immediately after the half-loop is completed. An important variation of the immelman is the Split-S, where you start at the top, perform a half-roll and a half-loop and finally level off at a lower altitude (inverse of the immelman!).

4. Cuban Eight [ Difficulty:]

It's time to get things more difficult and review loops and rolls. The cuban eight is an extremely hard maneuver that combines two incomplete loops and two half-rolls. As always, make sure wings are level, apply full thrust and start a normal loop. Everything goes like a full loop until 5/8 (225º) into it, which is the time you need to maintain that nose down attitude. Ok, we have completed 5/8th of a loop and are now flying inverted with a constant nose down attitude of 45º. At about half way down, begin a half-roll by fully deflecting the ailerons to the left/right - that will make you fly in the upright position again, but still at an angle of 45º nose down. Approaching entry altitude, level off again (1/8 loop) and repeat the same procedure: a 5/8 loop, 45º nose down attitude and finally a half-roll to the upright position. Approaching entry altitude again, level off and fly straight and level. The difficulty of this aerobatic is in keeping the same radius and altitude of both loops and maintaining always the same heading/opposite heading. You should exit the maneuver with the same altitude and heading of the entry. Except many hours of practice before you can get this one right! Variations of this aerobatic include the reverse cuban eight, inside-outside eight, half cuban eight and reverse half cuban eight.

5. Hammerhead [ Difficulty:]

The hammerhead is another interesting maneuver for those of you who like some adventure. This time, we're going to climb at 90º with full thrust and wait for the aircraft to stall, then descend also at 90º while performing aileron rolls. Sounds a lot of fun to dive directly into the ground while rolling and then safely recover, doesn't it?! Well, it is! First of all, I want you to make sure the aircraft is flying straight and level with a decent speed. When ready, apply enough up elevator to start a 90º climb - it ain't going to last long and you should reach stall speed within seconds. At stall speed, move the throttle back to idle and apply full rudder so that the aircraft initiates the turnaround. The aircraft's nose will move down in a vertical circle and you should be pointing down at this time. Use the rudder and elevator to control your attitude during the turnaround and the dive. You may want to do some aileron rolls while diving or climbing if you have enough altitude! To recover, simply apply some up elevator and get back to straight and level flight. The recovery point depends on the final altitude or speed you want to have - you can dive for a much longer time if you have a good altitude. This aerobatic is really cool to perform and not very difficult - definitely one of my favorites!

6. Spin [ Difficulty:]

Spins are also beautiful and interesting maneuvers. A spin in an autorotation with both wings stalled, resulting in a dive with lots of rotations. To enter a spin, move the throttle back to idle and maintain level flight - note that you'll need to increasingly pull the stick in order to maintain level flight as the speed decreases. Approaching stall speed, apply full rudder, full up elevator and wait for the spin to develop. Firmly maintain these inputs during the autorotation. When you are ready to recover, put the ailerons and elevator back to neutral and apply some opposite rudder until the the aircraft stops spinning. Finally apply some up elevator to go back to straight and level flight - adjust power as required. Once you get good at it, try to establish a fixed number of spins and recover exactly after this number is reached!

Conclusion

By this time, you should have already figured out that the "not serious flying" or "wrong way to fly" speech is a complete bullshi*! The amount of practice that it requires to perform one aerobatic perfectly (especially in the simulator) is surprisingly high and definitely isn't "just moving the stick to the sides". Not only are aircraft acrobatics extremely fun, it will also help you become a better pilot - it teaches you to better and more accurately control your airplane. Knowing how to recover from an inadvertent spin in an acrobatic aircraft, for example, will also prepare you to deal with a situation like this in a Cessna 172, a Beechcraft King Air or whatever non-acrobatic aircraft you are flying. It's no waste of time to practice and learn more about aerobatics, it can only do good!

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