| The Joy of Flying |
| 5. THE SPLIT S |

In this maneouvre we start straight and level. The idea is to roll inverted then execute a half loop, ending up pointing in the opposite direction. This was a common move in the Second World war where fighter pilots used it for a very quick change in direction at the same time as gaining lots of speed - at the expense of altitude. So.....will it be a left roll or right... |
..It’s a left roll. Straightforward enough. Aesthetically purist pilots might hold altitude...others let the nose drop, as in this example |
Nicely inverted now and all concentration goes into keeping the wings level whilst smoothly pulling back pressure and waiting for that high G to kick in. |
Pull...but not too much. We want this Citabria to return to the hanger with wings still attached.... |
...And.... recover. Easy. Almost as easy as a loop. In all these Maneouvres, you will find the Decathlon more responsive, but both aircraft in the cruise have extremely forgiving controls. We have gone to great lengths to get totally stable cruise and "normal" control, whilst still allowing you to enjoy all the stunts, many of them with hardly any trim adjustment at all. |

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| ...and the next one please |