These pictures from captured german film of an actual air duel between a spitfire and a messerschmitt to tell their own story. This spitfire pilot did not know his acrobatics as well as his enemy. One brave allied fire. Never have another chance to learn. Its too late to learn when you Start Playing for keeps. Thats why acrobatics are essential to every military pilot. There is an american off to practice acrobatics. Lets see what he must remember to. Before taking off a dual control airplane, the pilot must pass on the safety belt in the other cockpit, release the control control and check the airplane for a loose objects which might cause trouble. Then he enters his own cockpit and checks that the fastens the safety belt making that it is secure and snug. There he goes. Ready to practice the maneuvers, which some day help him shoot down his enemy. Because altitude is lost during most maneuvers, the safe pilot will climb well above the established limit, easiest to perform and fundamentally a basic maneuver on which more difficult acrobatics depend is the normal loop. When the loop is well done, the airplane outlines a nearly perfect in the sky. As the pilot noses down to begin his loop, he picks an aiming point like this road. As he pulls up into his claim he must keep his wings level and not fall off to either side. Coming out, he picks up the aiming point again and levels. This. We are going to show you all the actions involved in making a loop that can aiming point or any other definite object move the stick and open up the throttle for the dive. This dive gives the airplane, the speed it needs. For the airplane traveling fast enough move the throttle to the full advanced position and, ease way back on the stick, keep it back to start climbing. Increase the pressure on the stick, keeps the airplane on the arc of the circle when approaching the peak of the loop, we hold the picture to show the position of the wing against the horizon. This position must be checked until youre sure the airplane is level. As soon as the airplane down, when there is no danger of stalling retired the throttle to keep the engine from over revving when coming out of the loop, the airplane must still be headed for the aiming point advanced the throttle to climb to the original altitude and then push stick forward to resume normal flight and performing the loop. Here are the points of common errors. Failure to attain speed on the dive before. The climb is started. Too much back pressure the stick during the climb. This may lead to a stall retarding the throttle too early. This makes the airplane fall out of the loop. And lastly, errors and rudder use at any point in the this results in failure to maintain the flight path in a vertical plane plane. When the stick is in neutral position, the airplane is in level flight and your line of sight is the horizon. To apply back pressure to the stick which raises the elevators in this position. The resultant slipstream pressure is down, which pushes the tail down and lifts the nose up above the horizon. The pilots line of sight also comes above horizon and he knows the airplane is climbing. So conversely, forwards lowers the elevators and the result of the slipstream. Pressure is up now the pilots line of sight is below the horizon and the airplane is a neutral stick will hold the plane at a constant angle of glide while back pressure will return the airplane to level flight which can be maintained by returning the stick to neutral and centering the controls. When the airplane is flying straight ahead, the rudder is neutral. The nose remains on one point of the horizon to change direction to the left rudder pressure applied, which will force the tail to the right yawning. The plane to the left. Right rudder pressure, on the other hand, moves the airplane back along the horizon to the right. By neutralizing rudder. The airplane, once again is to fly straight ahead in considering the third set of controls, the ailerons, it can be seen that stick pressure. The pilots left forces left aileron up, causing a downward on the planes left wing. The right aileron goes down raising the right wing. Thus the airplane would tend to roll a longitudinal axis. Contrariwise stick pressure to. The pilots right forces the left down and the left wing up. Inversely, the right wing goes down. Now, if we were to cause the airplane to roll on its side in a vertical position so that the wings no longer support airplane continuing until the airplane is flying on its back, different of control effect will arrive. The most important thing to remember is that such maneuvers can only be correctly by complete coordination of controls if for we wish to roll counterclockwise as we apply left pressure to ailerons and the rudder, this coordinate of control causes a motion. The left as the approaches the vertical position. This continued left rudder would cause the airplane dive off to the left. To counteract this tendency, right or tough rudder must be applied to hold the nose up. This must be a sudden movement, but a blended change instead. The beginning application of left rudder and ailerons is just what we would have done for a simple turn to the now to arrest turning action, we must also apply forward stick pressure for elevator action as it is now approaching the relative location. The rudder has normal flight, the elevator deviation will cause the airplane to react as rudder usually does. Note that the flapping of the elevators in this vertical position is exactly that of a rudder in normal flight. The continued application of these controls will cause the airplane to rotate further. Let us examine the situation at the moment of. Inverted flight. Compare the position of the control surfaces to that of the airplane. In normal flight youll find that the ailerons and rudder are the same as if the plane were right side up. The elevator is in this position serve now to keep the airplane nosing down. But from the pilots upside down, point view, he is applying right rudder and forward stick. Lets continue our roll now. As the airplane approaches the vertical again once more top rudder must be applied. But now it is left rudder at 90 degrees. The roll is nearing its completion and you can see that the pilot uses left stick and rudder as he did at the start as the airplane again approaches the upright position and normal flight is resumed, the forward stick pressure is released and both ailerons and rudder are. None of these were control movements. All changes were affected by blending pressures from one position to another. Acrobat maneuvers cannot be correctly performed without perfect coordination of surface controls. Here is the slow roll. Well done. Note how nose comes up slightly and airplane rolls over on its back and then continues around again. It is a true lateral role dominated by aileron control. Keep the nose up during a slow roll if the maneuver is properly executed, the nose of the airplane on the horizon throughout the roll stop the roll. When the horizon is level level. To begin maneuver is the stick to the side. Start the roll, apply increasing amount of top rudder to keep the nose up as the airplane approaches the inverted position, neutralize the rudder, controls and press the stick forward as the airplane to roll around, apply a top rudder again. Ease off, neutralize both stick and rudder as normal flight position is approach this stops the roll and enables you to resume level flight. This ribbon. Path of flight shows the points of common errors in the slow roll. Most common is an error in this occurs, the airplane is not rotated about a definite failure to use top rudder in the vertical positions of the roll always causes trouble failure to hold the stick well over the side throughout the roll. Also spoils this maneuver. In a snap roll. The airplane rotates one full turn about a horizontal axis as in a fast tailspin. Keep the up for the snap roll. And bring the airplane up with the horizon level. To perform a snap roll stick is pulled rapidly all the way back at the same time. Full rudder is given to start the airplane rolling, use the ailerons slightly if necessary. When nearing the level position opposite controls are used to bring the roll to a stop since the airplane lost airspeed in the maneuver and is near stalling, the nose is lowered, resuming normal flight. In making snap rolls. The more common which may spoil the maneuver include two sudden and extreme use of the controls. Two high speed during any part. The maneuver and starting the recovery too late. In the half roll reverse. The nose is pulled up just as in a slow roll. Then the airplane is rolled over into the inverted position l there momentarily and then roll back in the opposite. Remember roll the airplane to the inverted. The horizon should be level old it momentarily and then roll back anticipate the return to normal plate by stopping the maneuver when the horizon is level. To make a half roll and reverse the ailerons are used to roll the airplane over. Top rudder must be used keep the nose up in a vertical position, neutralize the controls as the airplane approaches an inverted position keeping the stick forward to hold the nose on the horizon. Now move the stick the opposite side to start the airplane rolling back again, use the top rudder to hold the nose up, bring the stick and rudder back to neutral as the airplane moves into normal position. In. The half role and reverse common errors. Failure to orient the roll a definite point failure to apply a top rudder in the 90 degree position and failure to hold the stick forward in the inverted position position. The vertical reverse is a quick change from a steep turn in one direction to a steep turn in other. The airplane movements are rapid but controlled. In the vertical reverse. Keep the nose of the airplane on horizon through the initial steep turn, then swing the nose up, snap over and the nose on the horizon during the reverse. Level the wings with the horizon at the end of the maneuver. Here is the action. First, put the airplane into a steep turn. Then apply firm opposite rudder and pull stick back and over in the same direction. The rudder, the airplane nose is up and snaps over apply top rudder to keep the nose up. Then return the airplane to level. Common errors in the vertical reverse are starting the reverse too soon the turn is well begun. Continued back pressure on the after the peak of the maneuver has been reached and Violent Movement of the stick which may result in loss of control. In an immelman, the reverses its direction completely. The maneuver begins with a longer dive than that used for a loop. The airplane actually goes through the first half of the loop and the last half a slow roll. This shows how the dive held to gain speed, then pull the airplane up and a half loop through the inverted keeping the wings level. Then roll out to the normal flight position. As in the loop, the moment begins when the stick is pressed forward for the preliminary dive, but the stick is not pulled until a 20 higher speed is reached. The stick is pull back and held there during the entire climb and the wings are kept level. When the inverted position is reached, the stick is pressed and to one side to begin the half roll top rudder applied throughout the vertical position in order to keep the fuselage level. Finally, the airplane is put back into level flight. The maneuver will not be a successful immelman if these common errors are made. Failure to orient the maneuver toward a definite ground objective, insufficient speed which may result in complete failure and failure to maintain horizontal and level flight during the half roll roll. Thorough familiarity with all acrobatic maneuvers is a necessary to actual combat experience. The simple loop basic for timing and coordination in the use of throttle and elevator elevator. The half roll and reverse necessary in the development of a fine sense of timing. The immelman the lifesaver of the First World War and still best maneuver to reverse course, gain altitude simultaneously. The snap roll depended split Second Timing and control the slow roll essential practice for precision aileron control. The vertical reverse used instinctively to avoid collision or gunfire. These acrobat may not be used as complete maneuvers during actual combat, but the precision, timing and control must be familiar and instinctive reactions when youre up against the enemy, when you practice acrobatics, you are preparing for the real thing