Looping (aerobatics)

If the yaw rate is not reduced at the apex, the looping does not become circular. In competition, a pilot receives massive point deductions for this figure, at flight shows, on the other hand, loops close to the ground are deliberately flown in such a way as to avoid high load multiples during interception and the associated risk of a fatal stall near the ground.

Looping (from the English loop , 'loop') is a figure of aerobatics . It is a vertical circle up or down. If the pilot looks (shows) radially into the inside of the circle while looping with his upper body, one speaks of inner looping, while he looks out of the circle from outer looping.

designation

The figure is i. d. R. called looping ; the official German term rubbish is rarely used in practice. In the English-speaking world, the figure is not called Looping , but Loop ; it is a sham Anglicism.

history

Nesterow's Looping (Soviet special stamp 1963)

The inner loop was first - with a fixed wing aircraft - on August 27th ^July. / September 9, 1913 ^greg. flown by the Russian pilot Pyotr Nikolayevich Nesterov . In the West it was long believed that Adolphe Pégoud had flown the first loop; This was due to the great popularity of the show pilot Pégoud, while Nesterow was an unknown Russian military pilot. The military files show that Nesterov was even disciplined by his superior for his trick. On May 19, 1914, the Russian Lidija Swerewa flew her first loop.

The first outside loop according to modern aerobatic standards was flown by Gerhard Fieseler in 1928 .

execution

Inside looping

Looping in formation flight

The figure is one of the easier to fly aerobatic maneuvers. The aim of the competition pilot is to fly the circle as round as possible. The loop begins in rapid level flight (most aircraft around 200 km / h). In order to fly the figure in a plane, e.g. B. by looking sideways to the wing tips in front of the horizon to check that there is no bank angle. The vertical circle is executed by coordinated pulling of the elevator . At the apex the elevator is slackened for a moment, otherwise the circle would resemble an egg in the upper area. The g-load remains positive during the entire maneuver, i.e. H. the pilot never hangs in his belt. The elevator is then pulled back up to catch the aircraft.

The difficulty of the loop is to fly it really perfectly. It depends (as with all aerobatic maneuvers) how it looks for a spectator on the ground. Since the aircraft flies more slowly in the upper part of the loop, the rate of turn must also be lower there. Furthermore, any wind must also be compensated by the pilot by adapting the rate of rotation accordingly in the various phases of the figure and even deliberately pushing it in cross winds. Since the pilot has no direct clues as to what the figure looks like from the ground, it takes a lot of experience to be able to fly the loop really cleanly in all situations, as impurities would be immediately visible. So the looping is at the same time one of the easiest, but precisely for that reason also one of the most difficult aerobatics.

The sense of balance deceives the pilot instead of the circle a high wave before what with the physiology of the semicircular canals connected.

variants

The looping can be flown with both positive and negative load multiples (i.e. inwards or outwards) and both upwards and downwards. Depending on the variant, the starting position is normal flight or inverted flight position.

As a variant of the round loop, a square or octagonal loop can also be flown, although this designation is actually wrong, because of course there are no corners, but straight sections are simply inserted into a normal loop.

When gliding and with low-powered aircraft, the initial speed must be high enough to be able to control the aircraft well in the upper part of the loop. When looping down, however, the initial speed must not be too high in order not to exceed the operational limits of the aircraft.

figure	description	Aresti symbol
Inner loop upwards	The inner loop is a vertical circle that is initiated from upright flight by pulling the control stick. In every position the pilot looks into the inside of the circle. When looping inside, there are positive g-forces .
Outside loop downwards	The outer loop is a vertical circle that is initiated from upright straight flight by pressing the control stick. In any position, the pilot looks outward from the circle. When looping outside, negative g-forces act.
half outside loop downwards (English Bunt)	The half outside loop is almost the same as a full outside loop, only it ends exactly after the first half. This maneuver ends with inverted flight and is usually ended by rolling through 180 °.

Other than fixed-wing aircraft

helicopter

On May 9, 1949 in Bridgeport , Connecticut, USA, the first (documented) looping was flown with a Sikorsky S-52-1 helicopter. The test pilot Harold E. "Tommy" Thompson (* 1921 - October 29, 2003) flew the inner loop for United Technologies Sikorsky Aircraft with an S-52-1 with all-metal rotor blades and a 6-cylinder engine with 245 HP after In April and May 1948 he had set three speed records (including 129.616 miles / hour) in Cleveland with the same helicopter. He flew a total of 10 loops just above the ground over a populated area and his license was withdrawn, but was quickly returned. He also flew a loop a few feet above the sea surface and after a helicopter crash emergency landing in the spring of 1950 to 1979 no longer flew a helicopter.

In the meantime, loopings have been flown with a number of helicopter types.

Glider

Non-powered aircraft can only master a loop by swinging. Looping up and down is possible in glider aerobatics.

Hang glider and paraglider

Loops have also been flown with advanced kites and paragliders .

Model flight

Loopings can also be performed with model airplanes, including model helicopters.

UAVs

Multicopter drones can also fly loops. The maneuver can be programmed and carried out with self-control.

literature

• William H. Longyard: Who's who in aviation history. 500 biographies. Airlife Publishing Ltd, Shrewsbury 1994, ISBN 1-85310-272-5 .
• Peter Mallinson, Mike Woolard: Manual of Glider Aerobatics. Eqip, Königswinter 2001, ISBN 3-9806773-5-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Eileen Lebow: The Imperial Eagle Sprouts New Wings. In: Before Amelia. Women Pilots in the Early Days of Aviation. Potomac Books, 2002. p. 91.
2. ^ Who's Who in Aviation History , p. 68

Web links

Wiktionary: Looping  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Recommendations for training in glider aerobatics from the German Aero Club