AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2013 - 20

SAFETY PILOT

Low-impact aerobatics:
The Swiss way

BRUCE LANDSBERG
President, AOPA Foundation

Broadening his aviation horizons
LEARNING ABOUT unusual attitudes—not the pilot’s
but the aircraft’s—is an excellent skill and need not
be painful. It’s good experience since most of us
work hard to avoid them. One way that the AOPA
Foundation helps aviation worldwide is to offer our
services to AOPAs in other parts of the world. So
when AOPA-Switzerland invited me to speak at its
annual safety seminar (at their expense) last February,
I enthusiastically accepted.
My friends Daniel Affolter and Philippe Hauser—
president and secretary general of AOPA-Switzerland,
respectively—had arranged a special adventure.
Philippe had asked about skiing, but I’d rather be flying
to see how the Swiss do it. After a two-hour nap from
the evening’s trek across the Atlantic, it was off to St.
Gallen-Altenrhein airport where the Fliegermuseum
runs an active flight program for its members.
Capt. Paul Ruppeiner (retired Swissair captain,
Swiss Air Force instructor, and squadron leader) and
Simon Maurer, also a most accomplished aviator,
would fly Daniel and me in two Pilatus PC–7s for a
flight over the Alps. The PC–7 is a PT6-powered tandem trainer similar to a Beech T–34C that the
SLIDESHOW EXTRA
Fly along with
U.S. Navy uses for primary training.
Bruce Landsberg
We briefed emergency procedures and
in Switzerland.
departed as a flight of two into the hazy Swiss
afternoon. The scenery was spectacular through the
PC–7’s canopy. Paul asked about some aerobatics
and somewhere around 3 to 3.5 Gs in my somewhat
fatigued condition seemed about right.
The opening maneuver was a lazy 1-G formation
barrel roll. Rolling out the barrel is a great way to ease
into the upside-down attitudes. You get the “visual
wow” without the attendant physiological discomfort.
We were getting into the Alps and I was astonished by
two things—the spectacular view and how close the
aircraft were getting to the mountains. Not to worry,
the Swiss do this sort of thing all the time.
The next scene was right out of the movie Top Gun
as we followed the terrain, slid down small valleys,
and up over jagged crests where few, if any, humans
had been. It was only 150 meters to sheer rock walls
BRUCE LANDSBERG
is president of the
in snow-covered, dead-end canyons.
AOPA Foundation,
The PC–7 was pointed square at the rock wall
which funds the
ahead, closing at 190 knots. And then a smooth
work of the Air
Safety Institute.
2.5-G pull up over a vertical jagged spine, a modified

20 | AOPA PILOT May 2013

wingover at the top, a 90-degree turn, and a slide back
down to the 150-meter formation with endless ridges
and valleys.
Around the next peak was a large lake nestled in
a valley. How about a loop? Not bad—now you try one!
I have the aircraft; 220 knots entry nose down; and
pull (harder, pull harder); and then we’re on the down
side—keep pulling—and the terrain looked normal
again. The mountains are farther away than they look.
How are you feeling? Try some formation as wingman? OK. You’re watching the hills? The captain
grinned, “I’m watching everything.” I have the aircraft and we’re reasonably tight but I lost the tuck
when ground shyness compelled me to move out as
lead, as I was sure to go poof into a snow rock wall.
Paul chuckled, “I keep telling you it’s farther away
than it looks.”
He took back control, whifferdilled over the top of
lead. A brief pull to 3.8 Gs and he apologized immediately, but I was suffering no ill effects. It was some
of the most intense and beautiful flying I have ever
experienced. Forty minutes since takeoff, the sun is
low to the horizon and we’re on an overhead break for
the formation touchdown. Three green, no red; gear;
and flaps—and back to the normal world of aviation.
There’s a protocol to follow for unusual-attitude
flights to do them safely. Find a professional instructor who does this all the time. A superbly maintained
aircraft, suitable for the mission, is essential. It doesn’t
matter whether it’s an Extra 300, a Pitts S–2, a PC–7, a
Citabria, or some other aerobatically capable machine.
The airspace needs to be wide open.
The instructor should tell you exactly what’s
about to happen, being cognizant of your physical and psychological condition. You’re also much
less likely to overstress yourself if you do most of
the flying. Start with 3 Gs with an occasional gust
to 3.8. Anybody can yank and bank, but artists have
a soft touch. Bob Hoover performed aerobatics for
decades in Normal category twins, which are not recommended for the rest of us, but it proves my point.
Unusual-attitude training broadens your aviation
horizons nicely—the Alps are optional but add greatly
to the ambiance!
AOPA
WEB www.airsafetyinstitute.org

http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2013