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" An interesting fact, which is not obvious to many folks,
including some aerobatic pilots (judging by the number of loop into the ground accidents) is that the radius of any turn, up, down, sideways or whatever, is a function of the square of TRUE airspeed, which is of course a function of density altitude and calibrated airspeed. So, if the density altitude increases your true airspeed by 5mph, you get a 5mph^2 impact on your radius. This kind of change in radius can ruin your day if you are playing down near the dirt. This velocity^2 thing is also why the reverse cuban or loop down is a real killer. If you start the pull with X knots too many, you will use X^2 more radius for the 1/2 loop, throw in an increase in TAS of say Y due to density altitude and you are into (X+Y)^2 more radius ... not good. If you have not left margin either in terms of available G or altitude you are either gonna high speed stall on the way down (and hit the ground) or hit it on the arc. I think this may need a little more explaining even if only for my understanding. I am very new to aerobatics. So if I normally commence a loop at 100 knotts but get the entry speed wrong and start at 105 knots then my loop (assume horizontal plane and constant speed for simplicity) will be New_Loop_Diameter=Old_Loop_Diameter x New_Speed ^2 / Old_Speed ^2 i.e. a factor of 1.103. A bad entry of 15 knots over speed would have a factor of 1.323. But a target speed of 200 but entry of 215 would have a factor of 1.156. If my understanding is not correct then please explain why. I prefer to understand the physics/maths before I attempt some of these manoeuvres. Anyone care to formulate what happens when speed ( or "G") are not constant? Yes unfortunately while the radius is a function of velocity ^ 2, it is also a function of a great many other things. The main point is to recognize the non-linear relationship between speed and radius, and to then recognize that density altitude changes produce non-linear effects on radius. I don't recommend you do anything with the math except make a big 'ahhhhhhh' sound and let it cause a sensible sense of dread in you whenever you pull towards the ground. By the way, a minimum radius pull is at a bit above the stall speed so if you pull to just before the buffet you are pretty close regardless of airspeed. Cheers, Peter |
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