Well, it seems pretty well established that the whole thing is done with
smoke and computers today. The original Gooney Bird setup sounds like
it required stick and shooting skills but that's a long time ago.

Regarding commercial pylon turns. Jay, these are actually kind of fun
to learn to do. Great for 'shooting' some ground object with a camera
aimed at your wing tip. With a wind, it's the only to keep a fixed
camera on a fixed ground point while turning

I just looked it up in the Airplane Flying Handbook where it describes
2 commercial pylon turn manuevers. One is "Eights Around Pylons", the
second is "Eights-on-Pylons" or "Pylon Eights". The first corresponds
to the turns around a point you learn in primary. The second is the
interesting one. Instead of varying your bank to compensate for wind
drift at a constant altitude, you vary your altitude and airspeed to
keep the wing tip on the pylon. But it can only be done at the "pivotal
altitude" that corresponds to your airspeed.

Easier to have someone demo it than to read about it. I learned it
during my commercial and it's probably my most performed manuever when
giving someone a ride. As in, "let's take a look at that building over
there". I do a "Turn-on-a-Point" to give my passenger a perfect view of
the building sitting under my tip thru as many turns as we want. Of
course you will put the object on top of your tip.

It's just a neat one to know and learn.

Dave S wrote:
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay

If you can fly to commercial standards you should be able to perform
the maneuver in question: Pylon turns.