| To start the loop
- we need airspeed...lots of it! In the loop the
Citabria will get to the top not too much above
the stall speed so we need a good 120 knots+
before pulling up the nose. Establish about 10-20
degrees down and accelerate taking care not to
exceed VNE of 148 knots. Then pull up SMOOTHLY -
about 3 G’s should do it, with a little up
trim. Keep your eye on the G meter. |
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| Full power.... and
up she goes. Near the top of the loop airspeed
will decay dramatically. You should aim to still
have at least 55-60 knots as you reach inverted
attitude. Much less than this and you will
“fall of the top” of the loop. This is
not serious and easily recoverable, but it
ain’t pretty. The ideal loop is to paint a
circle in the sky, not a skewed elipse. The
Decathlon will loop more easily, and at a higher
speed. |
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| As you reach this
position you’ll still need plenty of power
to avoid falling off the top. In most of this
maneouvre you’ll need varying amounts of
right rudder to counteract engine torque, and as
you near the top, increasing P-factor as
well. If you were there for real,
you’d suddenly feel very light and slightly
disoriented as the G force reduced. In more
powerful aircraft there will be enough thrust to
sustain plenty of positive G throughout the loop.
|
 |
| As the ground
comes into view, cut the throttle unless you want
to go through VNE in about 3 seconds! Ease the
stick back. The highest positive G will now kick
in. Do NOT pull the stick all the way back.
Without force feedback you will have to estimate
the amount of pull. Pulling all the way back,
apart from breaking the wings, may produce a high
speed stall and spin. “Ease” out of the
dive. |
 |
| And there you have
it. Back to straight and level, back on with the
power and proceed to the next roll or your
destination. Loops are really quite easy, and a
lot easier than rolls. The main thing to watch is
not to pull out of the dive too quickly and to
ensure sufficient airspeed and a healthy rotation
in the first bit of the maneouvre. |
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