Great to see former USAF Colonel Rich Graham, Ret'd, again in a UA-cam video. Colonel Graham was an outstanding SR-71 squadron commander and HABU pilot and is an author of several books and the narrator of several videos about operating the Blackbirds. How very nice to see him showing a fellow pilot how to fly the Immelman turn in an RV-7A. The Immelman turn is named after a WW-1 Luftwaffe pilot who developed it for aerial combat, aka dog-fighting. The Immelman is also used by airshow pilots, to reverse direction to fly another aerobatic pass in front of the crowd. It starts with a proscribed entry speed, a half loop upward, followed by a 180 degree roll to arrive back at level flight at a low speed in the opposite direction of the aircraft's entry.. Here's how to fly one. 1. Ensure the airspace you intend to fly in is the correct type for aerobatic practice and satisfies all FAA regulations. While As you do the maneuver, alternate looking ahead to stay on line and following the path of your left or right wingtip as it pitches from level to vertical and back to level, but upside down. 2. Climb to a safe altitude and pick out a road or other straight land feature to use for a directional reference line, just as the show pilot must stay on the correct show line when flying aerobatic passes in front of the spectators.at your local airshow. 3. Dive gently to reach the the approved entry speed/speed range, wings level. Pitch upward smartly at about a 31/2- to 4-G pull to start the upward half of a loop. (A classic beginner's error is to not apply enough pitch moment, perhaps due to fear or to avoid feeling the full affect of Gs in vertical aerobatic maneuvers.) 4. As you near the vertical, start adding right rudder to avoiding yawing to the left and losing your directional reference as the airspeed reduces. After you pass the vertical, start backing increasing the right rudder input. 5. Past the vertical, cock your neck up to find your directional reference line again. Ease off about half the back pressure and increase the rudder input for about the last 20-30 degrees of pitch up until you are again nearly in a level attitude, on line, but upside down. (It is important to avoid flying an egg-shaped upper-half loop and using up your airspeed margin above stall too early. 4. While keeping the nose aligned to the reference line with right rudder, neutralize the stick. Start a full deflection 180 degree aileron roll to the left (most common) or to the right if you're flying an aircraft that Start neutralizing the roll input as the wings near a level attitude, now flying upright. (Important: You must finish the half loop with sufficient speed margin above the stall at the end of this maneuver to avoid stalling the airplane while in an inverted attitude.) The pitch part is fairly easy to learn and repeat. Rolling the airplane isn't really any harder to become proficient at. The real key to the Immelman, or any manoeuvre is keeping the nose aligned to the ground reference line by use of judicious yaw inputs. Once skilled at the Immelman, you might want to start learning the Split-S, which is the exact opposite of an Immelman. Begin with a shallow dive to reach the correct entry speed. Fly a full deflection half roll to inverted, then fly the lower, ie downward half of a loop to regain level flight on the reciprocal heading of the maneuver's entry at the same speed, direction and altitude you started the Immelman. .
Thanks for the step by step details on the Immelman, Douglas! It sounds like you served / flew with Rich? Here's another video that Rich and I made doing some more acro. At the end he tries his had again at doing a few Immelmans. ua-cam.com/video/xN6SaPREmgQ/v-deo.html
You're welcome. Just don't sue me if you screw up the first one and stall inverted. Nope, no service with the colonel; just a fan of his accomplishments flying the HABU and later as the squadron commander with the US Air Force at Beale AFB I believe. You can find a very interesting, longish video of Rich talking about flying the SR-71 in detail. As for my skills as an aerobatic pilot, I took an aerobatic course a long time ago in a Bellanca Decathlon. The keys to flying the Immelman are finding and maintaining the reference line with yaw inputs, especially as the airplane slows in the upper half of the vertical, making a strong enough pull back on the stick to smartly pitch the nose from level to inverted to level again and using the correct entry speed to allow the aircraft to fly the upward half loop and 180 degree roll to level without stalling the wings at the top of the maneuver. In the RV-7A I believe the approved entry speed for the Immelman is 150 knots. You can also get some semi-valuable virtual experience with the RV and other aerobatic planes by using a desktop flight simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane or Prepar3d. You haven't truly lived until you've virtually looped and rolled an A-380!
Fantastic Video series you have. As a 7A owner I really appreciate the step by step review and some of your experiments with speed. I don't move the power on my maneuvers. It stays in.
Thanks for the excellent video. I love the fact that there's no 'cut' in the middle of a maneuver; we get a pilot's view throughout. As a FWIW, I usually fly loops, rolls, cubans, & barrel rolls in my -4 (160 hp/wood prop) with a cruise power setting, & rarely move the throttle during a maneuver. I started out adding throttle on the upline & pulling on the downline, but discovered that the plane doesn't seem to mind much if I leave the power alone. Obviously will change the 'when & how much' of stick use, but otherwise, I've had no problems with those maneuvers. -Charlie
+RV7 Builder Thanks for the tip on power Charlie. I heard that from others too and have started leaving the power setting alone throughout the maneuver.
Thanks for posting these flights. Learning what can safely be done in the aircraft you fly is very important. I have many hours in Pitts and Extra 300's and they are fun, but those maneuvers can't be performed in any general airplane. Great.
Hi Jacob! sure thing, I'll get another flight in with Rich soon. I've been meaning to show him spins in my RV anyway. That will give us an excuse to go fly. Btw, if you haven't seen them already, I have a few other flights with Rich on my UA-cam channel. -Gene
More Rich Graham! Seeing such an accomplished pilot fly really is a treat.
In case you missed it, I've made another acro video with Rich Graham. Check it out ua-cam.com/video/xN6SaPREmgQ/v-deo.html
Great to see former USAF Colonel Rich Graham, Ret'd, again in a UA-cam video. Colonel Graham was an outstanding SR-71 squadron commander and HABU pilot and is an author of several books and the narrator of several videos about operating the Blackbirds. How very nice to see him showing a fellow pilot how to fly the Immelman turn in an RV-7A.
The Immelman turn is named after a WW-1 Luftwaffe pilot who developed it for aerial combat, aka dog-fighting. The Immelman is also used by airshow pilots, to reverse direction to fly another aerobatic pass in front of the crowd. It starts with a proscribed entry speed, a half loop upward, followed by a 180 degree roll to arrive back at level flight at a low speed in the opposite direction of the aircraft's entry..
Here's how to fly one.
1. Ensure the airspace you intend to fly in is the correct type for aerobatic practice and satisfies all FAA regulations. While As you do the maneuver, alternate looking ahead to stay on line and following the path of your left or right wingtip as it pitches from level to vertical and back to level, but upside down.
2. Climb to a safe altitude and pick out a road or other straight land feature to use for a directional reference line, just as the show pilot must stay on the correct show line when flying aerobatic passes in front of the spectators.at your local airshow.
3. Dive gently to reach the the approved entry speed/speed range, wings level. Pitch upward smartly at about a 31/2- to 4-G pull to start the upward half of a loop. (A classic beginner's error is to not apply enough pitch moment, perhaps due to fear or to avoid feeling the full affect of Gs in vertical aerobatic maneuvers.)
4. As you near the vertical, start adding right rudder to avoiding yawing to the left and losing your directional reference as the airspeed reduces. After you pass the vertical, start backing increasing the right rudder input.
5. Past the vertical, cock your neck up to find your directional reference line again. Ease off about half the back pressure and increase the rudder input for about the last 20-30 degrees of pitch up until you are again nearly in a level attitude, on line, but upside down. (It is important to avoid flying an egg-shaped upper-half loop and using up your airspeed margin above stall too early.
4. While keeping the nose aligned to the reference line with right rudder, neutralize the stick. Start a full deflection 180 degree aileron roll to the left (most common) or to the right if you're flying an aircraft that Start neutralizing the roll input as the wings near a level attitude, now flying upright. (Important: You must finish the half loop with sufficient speed margin above the stall at the end of this maneuver to avoid stalling the airplane while in an inverted attitude.)
The pitch part is fairly easy to learn and repeat. Rolling the airplane isn't really any harder to become proficient at. The real key to the Immelman, or any manoeuvre is keeping the nose aligned to the ground reference line by use of judicious yaw inputs.
Once skilled at the Immelman, you might want to start learning the Split-S, which is the exact opposite of an Immelman. Begin with a shallow dive to reach the correct entry speed. Fly a full deflection half roll to inverted, then fly the lower, ie downward half of a loop to regain level flight on the reciprocal heading of the maneuver's entry at the same speed, direction and altitude you started the Immelman. .
Thanks for the step by step details on the Immelman, Douglas! It sounds like you served / flew with Rich?
Here's another video that Rich and I made doing some more acro. At the end he tries his had again at doing a few Immelmans.
ua-cam.com/video/xN6SaPREmgQ/v-deo.html
You're welcome. Just don't sue me if you screw up the first one and stall inverted.
Nope, no service with the colonel; just a fan of his accomplishments flying the HABU and later as the squadron commander with the US Air Force at Beale AFB I believe. You can find a very interesting, longish video of Rich talking about flying the SR-71 in detail. As for my skills as an aerobatic pilot, I took an aerobatic course a long time ago in a Bellanca Decathlon.
The keys to flying the Immelman are finding and maintaining the reference line with yaw inputs, especially as the airplane slows in the upper half of the vertical, making a strong enough pull back on the stick to smartly pitch the nose from level to inverted to level again and using the correct entry speed to allow the aircraft to fly the upward half loop and 180 degree roll to level without stalling the wings at the top of the maneuver. In the RV-7A I believe the approved entry speed for the Immelman is 150 knots.
You can also get some semi-valuable virtual experience with the RV and other aerobatic planes by using a desktop flight simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane or Prepar3d. You haven't truly lived until you've virtually looped and rolled an A-380!
Fantastic Video series you have. As a 7A owner I really appreciate the step by step review and some of your experiments with speed. I don't move the power on my maneuvers. It stays in.
Nice video! I like your RV7, very smooth looking aeroplane 👍🏼
Thanks Daniel. The RV is definitely a joy to fly!
Thanks for the excellent video. I love the fact that there's no 'cut' in the middle of a maneuver; we get a pilot's view throughout. As a FWIW, I usually fly loops, rolls, cubans, & barrel rolls in my -4 (160 hp/wood prop) with a cruise power setting, & rarely move the throttle during a maneuver. I started out adding throttle on the upline & pulling on the downline, but discovered that the plane doesn't seem to mind much if I leave the power alone. Obviously will change the 'when & how much' of stick use, but otherwise, I've had no problems with those maneuvers. -Charlie
+RV7 Builder Thanks for the tip on power Charlie. I heard that from others too and have started leaving the power setting alone throughout the maneuver.
Thanks for posting these flights. Learning what can safely be done in the aircraft you fly is very important. I have many hours in Pitts and Extra 300's and they are fun, but those maneuvers can't be performed in any general airplane. Great.
Hi Jacob! sure thing, I'll get another flight in with Rich soon. I've been meaning to show him spins in my RV anyway. That will give us an excuse to go fly. Btw, if you haven't seen them already, I have a few other flights with Rich on my UA-cam channel. -Gene
Good stuff!
+Talan Thanks Talan! Be sure to check out TheHDPilot UA-cam channel. I have more acro lessons you can watch
For MORE AEROBATIC VIDEOS like this one go to
www.thehdpilot.com/videosbycategory.aspx?id=1