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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 1311.PDF
FLIGHT, 12 I960 221 - n line astern. When Macdonald (who is a perfectionist in these"'•nters) announced over the R/T that he was satisfied, the two """chines parted and we were left to our own devices. \t that moment he heard John Sweet say that we were "making p."e a bat» an apt description of Clayton's sudden inversion, which took me unawares, particularly as my harness was not quite as tight as it should have been (a point I remedied before my aerobatic lesson). , , ,, However, I was not given much time to ponder the problems of apparent'weightlessness, for in the next fifteen minutes Clayton went through a brilliant sequence of display aerobatics. In quick succession I experienced for the first time a Derry turn, Cuban eight, glide loop (in which the aircraft uses up about 300ft less vertical air space than in a powered loop), vertical figure of eight, barrel roll, lazy eight and a roll off the top. By the end of this virtuoso performance I was beginning to wonder where my inside was though my reason asserted itself to ponder just how long it took to acquire the skill to perform these manoeuvres with such apparent ease. The answer came, at least partly, on our second sortie; for duringthis Fit Lt Clayton gave me dual instruction (such as a pupil would receive) in the loop, stall turn and roll, manoeuvres fromwhich all other aerobatics are derived. He made the point that a student's introduction to aerobatics is gradual. For example, theclimb forms a preliminary to the loop, an important point being to keep the aircraft straight. Pupils are encouraged to try a loop(under dual supervision), before being told the procedure. My own efforts came off with reasonable success, though 1 hadsome difficulty in keeping the aircra't straight when inverted. Initial speed is 220kt, then the stick is pulled firmly backwards,pressure being relaxed somewhat as the aircraft comes up to the inverted position. Over the top, the rear horizon should be watchedthrough the canopy, and the aircraft eased out its dive with smooth pressure on the control column. I found the Jet Provost a delightful machine to roll, managingto get round successfully on my own after having twice "followed through" with my instructor. One difficulty I experienced wasthat of keeping the nose up, since I inadvertently applied bottom F9CWX L y*"" ff"'1*^
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