Aerobatics

erobatics is a form of aviation in which pilots perform by flying in patterns or drawing figures in the sky. Aerobatic stunts include loops, corkscrews, stalls, spins, and rolls. The name aerobatics came from the word acrobatics. The pilot makes the plane tumble around the sky like an acrobat. Several aircraft flying together in for­mation make patterns.

How Aerobatics Began

One of the earliest aerobatic maneuvers was looping the loop (flying a complete vertical circle), first performed by a Russian pilot in August 1913. One month later, the French pilot Adolphe

Pegoud startled onlookers by flying his Bleriot plane upside down. Pegoud had trained for this stunt by having the air­plane fixed upside down in a hangar. He strapped himself into the pilot’s seat, head down, for twenty minutes.

In the 1920s, pilots known as barn­stormers flew stunts that would not be permitted today. Their tricks included skimming under bridges and racing railroad trains. There were also wing­walking displays, with people standing on top of aircraft wings. This stunt is still performed at air shows.

In the 1930s, air force pilots used aerobatic displays to demonstrate tactics used in air combat. They flew in groups that formed patterns, or in formation. Close formation flying included stunts with planes tied together.

The first world championships in aerobatics were held in 1960. In modern-day competitions, there are events for teams and individual pilots. Aerobatic contests are flown at heights from 328 to 3,280 feet (100 to 1,000 meters).