The Basic Aerobatic Manual: With Spin and Upset Recovery Techniques

The Basic Aerobatic Manual: With Spin and Upset Recovery Techniques

Third Edition

William K. Kershner

Illustrated by the Author

Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.

7005 132nd Place SE, Newcastle, WA 98059

asa@asa2fly.com | 425-235-1500 | asa2fly.com

© 2006–2021 Kershner Flight Manuals, LLC. Previous editions © 2001–2006 William K. Kershner.

First Edition published 1987, Iowa State University Press. Second Edition published 2014 by Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher, William C. Kershner, and Kershner Flight Manuals, LLC, assume no responsibility for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

None of the material in this book supersedes any operational documents or procedures issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft and avionics manufacturers, flight schools, or the operators of aircraft.

ASA-FM-AERO-3-EB

ISBN 978-1-64425-189-8

Additional formats available:

Print Book ISBN 978-1-64425-188-1

eBook PDF ISBN 978-1-64425-190-4

Cover photo credits: Top: iStock.com/Alexlukin; Bottom: Ints/stock.adobe.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021946516

About the Author

After doing his first spin at the age of 16 in an Aeronca TAC, William K. Kershner flew and taught aerobatics for 60 years. Bill put his degree in technical journalism and aerodynamics, along with his ability to make complex ideas seem simple, to work in writing The Student Pilot’s Flight Manual, The Instrument Flight Manual, The Advanced Pilot’s Flight Manual, The Flight Instructor’s Manual and The Basic Aerobatic Manual. He also wrote Logging Flight Time, a collection of aviation anecdotes and experiences collected over a lifetime in aviation. The Kershner Flight Manual Series has influenced hundreds of thousands of pilots, with over 1.3 million copies printed in at least 3 languages.

Bill received the General Aviation Flight Instructor of the Year and the Ninety-Nines Award of Merit, among many other honors. To date he is the only person to have been inducted into both the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame and the Flight Instructor’s Hall of Fame. He was among the first to be inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame.

Kershner operated an aerobatic school for many years at the Sewanee-Franklin County airport in Tennessee using a Cessna 152 Aerobat. His airplane, N7557L, is on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport. Bill Kershner died January 8th, 2007.

Editor William C. Kershner received his early flight training from his father, William K. Kershner. He holds Commercial, Flight Instructor, and Airline Transport Pilot certificates and has flown 22 types of airplanes, ranging in size from Cessna 150s to Boeing 777s, in his 16,000 flight hours. He retired from commercial aviation as a 737 check airman and lives near Sewanee, Tennessee, with his wife.

Preface

to the First Edition

This manual was written to be used as a reference guide in conjunction with an introductory aerobatic course, with emphasis on flying the Cessna Aerobat. The airspeeds and techniques are those recommended for the Aerobat; however, the maneuvers described may be done (at the appropriate airspeeds) in other airplanes certificated for aerobatics.

The maneuvers are introduced in the expected order of difficulty. You should study the text and illustrations both before and after the flight in which the maneuver is introduced by your instructor.

While we’re on the subject of your instructor, it should be noted that self-taught aerobatics is not the way to go. That method is certainly very inefficient—and can be dangerous.

This is a guide only. Performance of the various aerobatic maneuvers depends on the experience and skill of the individual, and the time necessary to learn the various maneuvers will vary among pilots. Your instructor will know when you’re ready to move on to a new or more complex maneuver.

This book is an updated version of the Cessna 150 Aerobat Training Manual written in 1969. The recommended entry airspeeds were in miles per hour rather than knots (which are now almost universally used in flying). Power (RPM) settings were higher than those used in the Cessna 152 Aerobat (the standard power setting at cruise for chandelles, wingovers, lazy eights, and aileron rolls is 2,300 RPM for the C-152 and 2,500 RPM for the C-150 model). The 1976 and 1977 Cessna 150 Aerobats changed to knots but used the same power settings as the earlier 150. I have included speeds and power settings for all models of the airplanes; the first figures are for the C-152 Aerobat in knots, the figures following in parentheses for the C-150 in miles per hour. You’ll note that the values don’t always jibe with the conversion factor for knots and miles per hour. There are a couple of reasons for this: (1) I have slightly changed some entry speeds (knots) for various maneuvers, based on several hundred hours of instructing in the Aerobat, and (2) the speeds in miles per hour are rounded off to the nearest 10 mph for easier handling in flight. In short, if your Aerobat airspeed indicator is in knots use the first recommended speed. If it’s marked in mph, use the recommended speed given in parentheses.

The maneuvers here cover the general range of g forces from +4.0 to 0 (briefly), and the majority of them can be done within a range of +3.5 to +0.5g’s. The stock Aerobat does not have an inverted fuel or oil system, and I believe that the average person should be introduced to the idea of aerobatics in a comfortable environment with no engine power loss or hanging on the belt and harness. Certainly those serious about continuing aerobatics should get further instruction in an airplane that allows the extended negative g’s necessary for the performance of more complex maneuvers. Certain maneuvers covered here in an across-the-board introduction to basic aerobatics may not be listed for a particular airplane.

I worked with Joyce Case, Jim Kemper, Bill Thompson, and Ed McKenzie of Cessna in writing the original training manual in 1969 and thoroughly enjoyed being associated with them.

I would like to thank Jim Bryan, who flew aerobatics with me and took a series of pictures throughout several maneuvers that allowed me to accurately illustrate various instrument indications.

My son Bill, a CFI, helped with data taking on several flights in the Aerobat, noting the times and altitudes required for various maneuvers. Thanks to Eleanor Ulton for the good typing and automatic correction of grammar and punctuation errors.

Thanks also to Gordon Lee Hight, one of my aerobatic trainees, who made suggestions for corrections and improvements in the book. Cessna Aircraft Company has kindly given me permission to rewrite the manual as a personal project and has furnished the original drawings and layouts. Since this book is a different and personal approach it should be understood that it is not a Cessna project or an official view by that company.

You won’t be anywhere near ready for competition or airshow aerobatics after this course, but this training will increase your confidence and all-around ability to fly all airplanes.

William K. Kershner

Preface to the Second Edition

The advantages of quality basic aerobatic training are hard to over-state.

Aerobatic/upset training allows the pilot to react to an unusual attitude more quickly and correctly, versus a pilot who hasn’t performed a stall since his or her last Flight Review and has never been inverted. Even very experienced (but not upset-trained) pilots can be timid in a push-and-roll scenario, losing precious altitude in a wake turbulence recovery.

Entering a cross-controlled stall/spin at a safe altitude with a competent instructor will open any pilot’s eyes to the dangers of having a tailwind on base and trying to salvage a poor traffic pattern.

My thanks to ASA’s Editing and Production departments, especially Jennie Trerise, for their help in this endeavor.

The Second Edition of The Basic Aerobatic Manual is dedicated to three of the many mentors I’ve been fortunate to have had: Genie Rae O’Kelley, Ned Kirby-Smith, and Jim Banks.

William C. Kershner

Sewanee, Tennessee

Preface to the Third Edition

Here I would like to note a couple of the changes in U.S. aviation since the last edition.

The rewriting of 14 CFR Part 23 (Airworthiness Standards) results in all newly certified small airplanes being in the Normal category (no more Utility or Aerobatic) with qualified types being approved for aerobatics, including spins. Non-aerobatic airplanes certified under the previous rules could be approved for spins under specific weight and balance situations (when operating in the Utility category). Those certified under the new rules are either limited to chandelles, lazy eights, steep turns, and stalls or are Normal but certified for aerobatics (which includes spins). The certifications Normal, Utility, and Aerobatic still apply to all of those older planes.

Because such a high percentage of fatal general aviation accidents are related to loss of control (i.e., stalls/spins), the FAA has worked to lighten the regulatory load for add-on safety equipment, such as angle-of-attack indicators, for existing airplanes. You may come across one of these in the next plane you rent or fly in (see Chapter 8).

The occasional comment about maneuvers related to practical tests are made in the hope that a private pilot, having taken a basic aerobatic course, might be inclined to go for a commercial or flight instructor’s certificate.

William C. Kershner

Sewanee, Tennessee

1

Introduction to Aerobatic Flight

Advantages of Aerobatic Training

In recent years, flight training in the United States has gradually moved away from the idea of being able to fly the airplane in steeper pitch and bank attitudes. In fact, some professional pilots would be at a loss to know what to do if the airplane exceeded certain pitch or bank limits. Under the current system of certification some flight instructors have never been in a developed spin but have been signed off by a fellow instructor after a one-turn spin in each direction, both participants more than glad to terminate the exercise at that point and descend the 10,000 feet back down to the airport.

Many flight instructors are seriously concerned about what they would do in the event of a spin or inverted flight occurring because of a student’s, or wake turbulence, action. Every flight instructor should have at least 5 hours of aerobatic training. While we’re talking about wake turbulence, don’t think that any amount of aerobatic training and experience would guarantee recovery from wake turbulence on takeoff or landing, but it would give you a better chance at recovery at higher altitudes. The aerobatically trained pilot will roll the airplane upright if inverted by wake turbulence or other factors, minimizing the altitude loss, as compared to the pilot without aerobatic training who would most likely pull through a split S (half loop), losing 1,000 feet or more. Again, though, aerobatic training will not guarantee recovery. Wake turbulence should always be respected and feared—and always avoided.

A second plus for aerobatic training is an added confidence in other phases of your flying. No longer will that great unknown area past 20° pitch and 60° bank be lurking out there waiting to get you. You will expand your envelope of operation for the airplane. There’s no real proof, but it’s highly possible that as many accidents have been caused by timidity and over-cautiousness as by recklessness; both are usually the result of lack of knowledge and experience in the full approved operating envelope of the airplane. You can justify the expense of taking an aerobatic course to your spouse by noting that it will make you a safer pilot—which it certainly will.

The third factor is that it will likely be the most enjoyable flying of your career, and this is icing on the cake. It will be challenging as well as enjoyable. (Instrument training is challenging and, for some, enjoyable. Later in this book it will be shown that some aerobatic maneuvers such as aileron rolls, loops, and spins may be done under the hood while your instructor acts as safety pilot.)

As was noted in the Preface, no aerobatic maneuvers should be attempted without first having received dual instruction from a qualified aerobatic instructor. You didn’t read a how-to-fly book, jump in an airplane, and teach yourself to get the machine off the ground and back again. This manual assumes that you have a private certificate so the basics of how to turn, climb, glide, and fly straight and level won’t have to be reviewed.

The course recommended here will consist of six lessons for a total of 5 hours flight time (see the syllabus at the back of the manual). You can set your own pace in going through the course; however, three flights a day should be your maximum.

You shouldn’t try to cram the course through in, say, one day because your rate of learning might not be as great if the new information comes too fast; on the other hand if you fly once every 2 weeks, you’ll spend a lot of time reviewing the maneuvers covered the last flight. Try to fly at least twice a week (one flight a day is better) and use this manual as a review between flights.

Federal Aviation Regulations

In any bona fide aerobatic course you will fly in accordance with the Federal Aviation Regulations and following are some points you should consider. Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) pertaining to aerobatic flying are as follows.

14 CFR §91.303 Aerobatic flight.

No person may operate an aircraft in aerobatic flight—

(a) Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement;

(b) Over any open air assembly of persons;

(c) Within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport;

(d) Within 4 nautical miles of the center line of any Federal airway;

(e) Below an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface; or

(f) When flight visibility is less than 3 statute miles.

For the purposes of this section, aerobatic flight means an intentional maneuver involving an abrupt change in an aircraft’s attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration, not necessary for normal flight.

Parachute Requirements

You and your instructor will wear parachutes while doing aerobatics. The parachutes should be in good condition and within the packing dates required by regulation. As unlikely as bailing out is, there’s nothing like discovering that you’re wearing a fifteen-dollar bargain that hasn’t been repacked since World War II.

Your instructor will show you how to inspect the parachute before wearing it and will make sure that your parachute has been inspected and repacked by a certified rigger within the required time period. Following are the FARs on the subject.

14 CFR §91.307 Parachutes and Parachuting.

(a) No pilot of a civil aircraft may allow a parachute that is available for emergency use to be carried in that aircraft unless it is an approved type and has been packed by a certificated and appropriately rated parachute rigger—

(1) Within the preceding 180 days, if its canopy, shrouds, and harness are composed exclusively of nylon, rayon, or other similar synthetic fiber or materials that are substantially resistant to damage from mold, mildew, or other fungi and other rotting agents propagated in a moist environment; or

(2) Within the preceding 60 days, if any part of the parachute is composed of silk, pongee, or other natural fiber or materials not specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(b) Except in an emergency, no pilot