 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(April 2017) |
The split S is an Aerobatic maneuver and an air combat maneuver mostly used to disengage from combat. To execute a split S, the pilot half-rolls their aircraft inverted and executes a descending half-loop, resulting in level flight in the opposite direction at a lower altitude. [1]
The split S is taught to be used in dogfighting when the pilot has the opportunity to withdraw from battle. It can be an effective tactic to prevent an enemy behind (between four o'clock and eight o'clock positions) from gaining a missile lock-on while one is disengaging from a fight.
The split S is contrasted with the Immelmann turn, which is an ascending half-loop that finishes with a half-roll out, resulting in level flight in the opposite direction at a higher altitude. The split S is also called a reversed Immelmann turn and can also be written with a hyphen: split-S. In basic terms, the Immelmann and split S are very similar, both accomplishing the same reversal in course, but the split S exchanges altitude to gain speed, while the Immelmann turn exchanges speed to gain altitude.
The split S, being a descending maneuver, means that the pilot must ensure that it is started high enough to complete the half-loop; the exact minimum altitude depends on factors like the aircraft's speed, weight and maneuverability, likewise the terrain below the plane. Misjudgements can arise from a lack of situational awareness [2] [3] or from an error in reading instruments.
The reasons for starting the split S maneuver from the inverted position include the fact that people tolerate acceleration ("g-force") applied from head to feet several times better than the reverse direction, as much as 9g versus 3g. [4] Most combat aircraft frames are also designed to pull more Gs in their positive aspects (upward to the aircraft), rather than negative (downward to the aircraft). A much tighter maneuver is therefore possible with the half roll.
The split S without a beginning half-roll[ clarification needed ] was a standard maneuver in early World War II by German pilots seeking to evade British fighters. The Merlin engine used in British fighters was carburetted, and the float valves would malfunction under negative g-force leading to reduced power or a stalled engine (The German fighters were not subject to this problem since they used fuel injection). This could be prevented by rolling the aircraft before starting the dive, but doing so took up enough time to give the German pilots an excellent chance of escaping. The beginnings of a solution was provided by "Miss Shilling's orifice", a fuel-flow restriction device, and was finally solved by changing from the original S.U. carburettors to Bendix-Stromberg pressure carburettors, and later to S.U. injection carburettors.
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx.
Max ImmelmannPLM was the first German World War I flying ace. He was a pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchronized gun, which was in fact achieved on 1 July 1915 by the German ace Kurt Wintgens. He was the first aviator to receive the Pour le Mérite, colloquially known as the "Blue Max" in his honour, being awarded it at the same time as Oswald Boelcke. His name has become attached to a common flying tactic, the Immelmann turn, and remains a byword in aviation. He is credited with 15 aerial victories.
Air combat manoeuvring (ACM) is the tactic of moving, turning, and situating one's fighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Commonly associated with dogfighting, air combat manoeuvres rely on offensive and defensive basic fighter manoeuvring (BFM) to gain an advantage over an aerial opponent.
Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dogfights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others. Nearly all aircraft are capable of performing aerobatics maneuvers of some kind, although it may not be legal or safe to do so in certain aircraft.
In aerobatics, the cobra maneuver, also called dynamic deceleration, among other names, is a dramatic and demanding maneuver in which an airplane flying at a moderate speed abruptly raises its nose momentarily to a vertical and slightly past vertical attitude, causing an extremely high angle of attack and momentarily stalling the plane, making a full-body air brake before dropping back to normal position, during which the aircraft does not change effective altitude.
Basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) are tactical movements performed by fighter aircraft during air combat maneuvering, to gain a positional advantage over the opponent. BFM combines the fundamentals of aerodynamic flight and the geometry of pursuit, with the physics of managing the aircraft's energy-to-mass ratio, called its specific energy.
A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described as a "combination of a loop and a roll". The g-force is kept positive on the object throughout the maneuver, commonly between 2 and 3g, and no less than 0.5g. The barrel roll is commonly confused with an aileron roll.
The term Immelmann turn, named after German World War I Eindecker fighter ace Leutnant Max Immelmann, refers to two different aircraft maneuvers. In World War I aerial combat, an Immelmann turn was a maneuver used after an attack on another aircraft to reposition the attacking aircraft for another attack. In modern aerobatics, an Immelmann turn is an aerobatic maneuver that results in level flight in the opposite direction at a higher altitude.
The scissors is an aerial dogfighting maneuver commonly used by military fighter pilots. It is primarily a defensive maneuver, used by an aircraft that is under attack. It consists of a series of short turns towards the attacking aircraft, slowing with each turn, in the hopes of forcing the attacker to overshoot. Performed properly, it can cause the attacking aircraft to move far enough in front to allow the defender to turn the tables and attack.
A Cuban eight or Cuban 8 is a figure eight aerobatic maneuver for both full-scale and radio-controlled fixed-wing aircraft.
The chandelle is an aircraft control maneuver where the pilot combines a 180° turn with a climb.
The aileron roll is an aerobatic maneuver in which an aircraft does a full 360° revolution about its longitudinal axis. When executed properly, there is no appreciable change in altitude and the aircraft exits the maneuver on the same heading as it entered. This is commonly one of the first maneuvers taught in basic aerobatics courses. The aileron roll is commonly confused with a barrel roll.
Radio-controlled aerobatics is the practice of flying radio-controlled aircraft in maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight.
Supermaneuverability is the capability of fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers that are not possible with purely aerodynamic techniques. Such maneuvers can involve controlled side-slipping or angles of attack beyond maximum lift.
3D Aerobatics or 3D flying is a form of flying using flying aircraft to perform specific aerial maneuvers. They are usually performed when the aircraft had been intentionally placed in a stalled position for purposes of entertainment or display. They are also often referred to as post-stall maneuvers, as they occur after aerodynamic stall has occurred and standard control surface deflections, as used in flight, are not effective.
A slow roll is a roll made by an airplane, in which the plane makes a complete rotation around its roll axis while keeping the aircraft flying a straight and level flightpath. A slow roll is performed more slowly than an aileron roll; although it is not necessarily performed very slowly, it is performed slowly enough to allow the pilot to maintain balance, keeping a steady flightpath, pitch angle, and height (altitude) throughout the maneuver. The maneuver is performed by rolling the airplane at a controlled rate with the ailerons, and moving the elevators and rudder in opposition, or "cross-controlling," to keep the plane on a steady, level flightpath.
A wingover is an aerobatic maneuver in which an airplane makes a steep climb, followed by a vertical flat-turn. The maneuver ends with a short dive as the plane gently levels out, flying in the opposite direction from which the maneuver began.
A falling leaf is a maneuver in which an aircraft performs a wings-level stall which begins to induce a spin. This spin is countered with the rudder, which begins a spin in the opposite direction that must be countered with rudder, and the process is repeated as many times as the pilot determines. During the maneuver, the plane resembles a leaf falling from the sky; first slipping to one side, stopping, and then slipping to the other direction; continuing a side-to-side motion as it drifts toward the ground.
The Hineri-komi was an air combat maneuver widely used by fighter pilots of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) through the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War. It allows an aircraft, which is being pursued by an enemy, to come at the pursuer's tail or to gain an opportunity to take a shot at it.
