74
votes
Accepted
Why did the pilots in Top Gun: Maverick invert at the crest of the mountain before descending?
It’s to maintain a positive loading throughout the maneuver. The F/A-18E is load limited to +7.5G/-3.0G, depending on loadout and flight operations. With a designed in factor of safety of 1.5, the ...
- 74.5k
50
votes
What are those things at the wing tip of an aerobatic aircraft?
They are external attitude references. They're aligned with the aircraft's axes and positioned along the pilot's line of sight to give a quick visual guide to the aircraft's attitude during aerobatic ...
- 501
40
votes
Accepted
Why do non-aerobatic aircraft have a negative G limit?
You can get negative load factors (g forces) in different ways than just flying upside down:
Change in pitch: When you push on the control column, the pitch will start to decrease. Depending on how ...
- 57.6k
38
votes
Accepted
What's the purpose of "over G" penalties in Red Bull Air Race?
It's a safety rule to protect the limits of the airframe and the pilot.
See the video (also on youtube) from this Red Bull Air Race page which explains the rules. The G-limit is discussed from 3:30.
...
- 83.8k
33
votes
Why use an airplane with non-retractable landing gear for aerobatics?
As you mentioned, drag is one of the reasons why retractable landing gears are used in the first place. But in order to use it, there are way more considerations than just drag.
Scale: Size of the ...
- 441
26
votes
Why did the pilots in Top Gun: Maverick invert at the crest of the mountain before descending?
Human negative G limits for pushing the nose down are about 3G, vs. maybe 9G positive G limit for pulling the nose up (or downward while inverted), very roughly, and as other answers explain, negative ...
- 858
24
votes
Accepted
Can a barrel roll really be executed at a constant 1G?
You are absolutely right, a load factor of greater than 1 is impossible to avoid in a proper barrel roll. The barrel part of its name comes from the spiral path the aircraft needs to perform in order ...
- 236k
23
votes
Why would a plane descend rapidly in uncontrolled manner after a steep turn?
Markus Voelter interviewed Matt Hall for an episode of his omega tau podcast. They discuss this incident in more detail at 1:13:00.
The aircraft experienced a high speed g stall, also called an ...
- 73.5k
21
votes
Accepted
Why would the front edge of an aileron fold outward?
That is an enclosure for a counterweight, either made from steel or lead to balance the aileron and/or reduce control flutter in various flight regimes. The extension provides an additional lever arm ...
- 74.5k
20
votes
Accepted
Why do aerobatic aircraft have separate tanks instead of a single acrotank?
A long time ago aerobatic aircraft had just a single tank with a flop tube inside it.
This works "OK", but when you're doing something complicated with a half-empty or mostly-empty tank, it's too ...
- 6,989
19
votes
Why is Russian super-maneuverable thrust vectoring more prevalent than American?
This is a case of divergent design, and you can't know the answer without asking why current aircraft are designed they way they are.
Following the work of Col. John Boyd in the 1960's in developing ...
- 191
19
votes
Why does wingwalking use only biplanes?
3 reasons:
The really obvious one; biplanes had the interplane structural network to hang on to when doing the wing walking. It's a heck of a lot safer for the wing walker. Even today, most of the ...
- 134k
17
votes
How do fuel trim and air bubbles prevention work in inverted flight?
A typical GA airplane will draw fuel from at or near the bottom of the tank.
An aerobatic airplane will have a hose from the engine to the middle of the tank, then on the inside of the tank there ...
- 6,989
17
votes
How long can an average aerobatic plane sustain 0g?
An aerobatic aircraft (as well as any aircraft) can sustain 0g until the pilot pulls up, the aircraft hits the ground, or reaches terminal velocity.
In order to sustain 0g the aircraft must be ...
- 8,604
16
votes
Accepted
Why is Russian super-maneuverable thrust vectoring more prevalent than American?
Part 1 - TVC
Perception
The US also ran several programs with TVC:
F-15 STOL/MTD and ACTIVE.
F-16 VISTA / MATV. AVEN:
F-18 HARV (High Alpha Research Vehicle)...
- 3,984
16
votes
Why use an airplane with non-retractable landing gear for aerobatics?
Strictly speaking, a 'pure' aerobatic aircraft doesn't need a retractable landing gear. For such an aircraft maneuverability is much more important than speed. In fact, the aircraft can't fly too ...
- 100k
12
votes
Accepted
Are low wings less safe for aerobatics training?
No.
It has nothing to do with the configuration, but the structure, the engine and the fuel system of your aircraft. The SportCruiser is certified in the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category and is ...
- 236k
12
votes
Why use an airplane with non-retractable landing gear for aerobatics?
In the case of the Red Bull Air Race, the engine and propeller are specified by the race officials, and must remain unmodified, so the airframes are designed to get the most out of that combination. ...
- 8,807
12
votes
Accepted
Which modern day prop (piston) engines allow for inverted flight?
Any “modern day” piston engine can allow for inverted flight if it has the right equipment on it.
The American Champion Citabria with the 7KCAB Inverted Fuel and Oil package along with the American ...
- 37.9k
11
votes
Accepted
How long can an average aerobatic plane sustain 0g?
The longest possible 0g experience is on a parabolic Flight http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/sciences/parabolic.asp.
As Devil07s great answer explains the time a plane can fly "at 0g" depends on its ...
- 1,833
11
votes
Why would a plane descend rapidly in uncontrolled manner after a steep turn?
I haven't watched the video, but keep in mind that to a first order approximation, lift is perpendicular to the airfoil.
In ordinary level flight or close to it, this causes the lift vector to have a ...
- 6,984
10
votes
Why are the back of the wings of some aerobatic planes swept forward?
It is not so much that the trailing edge is swept forward as that the leading edge is held to zero sweep.
One way to approximate an elliptical lift distribution (without twisting a wing) is to taper ...
- 15.5k
9
votes
Accepted
During inverted banking, what happens to heading?
Would a plane in 135° roll be using stick-forward to retain altitude? And thus bank in the direction the wheels are pointing?
Yes and yes.
Let's say you're flying North. You roll inverted, then ...
- 6,989
9
votes
Why did the pilots in Top Gun: Maverick invert at the crest of the mountain before descending?
Positive G vs Negative G.
The pilot and aircraft can sustain greater pos G than neg. This would allow them follow a sharper arc going over the top, and stay closer to the landscape.
Of course, an ...
- 9,650
8
votes
What are those things at the wing tip of an aerobatic aircraft?
You don't see those except on serious aerobatic airplanes. In competition aerobatics such as those sanctioned by organizations that put on the National Aerobatic Championship and others worldwide, ...
- 81
8
votes
Accepted
Under EASA rules, what do I need to do to be able to perform aerobatics?
The appropriate rules are in FCL.800 Aerobatic Rating
A licensed pilot may not undertake aerobatic flights unless they hold an Aerobatic Rating
40 Hours of Flight Time (or 120 launches for sailplanes ...
- 36.2k
8
votes
What is the largest aircraft that has been flown inverted successfully?
Theoretically ANY airplane can be flown inverted, if you know what you are doing with it and make sure it is loaded properly throughout the maneuver. Boeing test pilot Tex Johnson famously rolled the ...
- 74.5k
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