Flying Upside Down. With the machine on its back, then wings are very inefficient, and it is impossible to maintain horizontal flight in this position, and the machine is also very unstable. It should really be called gliding instead of flying since the aeroplane constantly loses altitude along an inclined gliding path. The distance that a machine can be glided in this way depends upon the skill of the pilot, and it will also be found that upside down flight with a large dihedral is more difficult than with straight wings. The upside down flight begins with a glide to gain speed, the path being about 20° with the horizontal, and this speed gain is imperative since it requires both the power of the motor and the momentum of the machine to overcome the sharp climb for the turnover.
Upside Down Glide Diagram, Showing Successive Positions of Aeroplane.
After sufficient speed has been attained, the controls are pulled back for a climb at about a 60° angle, as between (A) and (C), this maneuver being best performed with the gliding path (C-D) against the wind. With the control pulled back at (A), the rudder is thrown over sharply in the desired direction of the turnover, and this will turn the machine over as indicated by at (B), the machine finally getting on its back at the peak of the climb (C). With the machine on its back, reverse rudder to stop the overturning, and when the wings are horizontal, the rudder should be put in neutral to hold it in this position. At (C) the motor is shut off, and the glide continued to (D) where it is leveled out by a backward pull on the controls. This should always be performed at an altitude well over 2000 feet.
Looping Diagram Showing Successive Positions of Machine.
Looping. This is probably the easiest of all stunts outside of the spiral glide. It starts with about a 20° glide as at (A) to increase the velocity (Motor on), and at the beginning of the loop at (B), the control lever is pulled back slowly. The controls must be pulled back faster and faster as the plane approaches the top of the loop, a steady pull producing nearly the correct effect because of the decreasing elevator resistance as the machine reaches the top of the loop at (C). At the top, the lever should be clear back and must be held in this position until at the bottom (D) where the machine leaves the loop along the inclined path (D-E) At (D), the stick is pushed slowly forward to neutral, gradually bring the machine into the horizontal. The loops must always be made when flying into the wind, and the faster they are made the better, for there is less strain on the frame and speed also prevents the motor from cutting out at the top of the loop.
A Few Straight Loops and Backward Reverse Loops Performed by Niles.
