As the Wings Over Camarillo Air Show gets closer, check out some of the amazing, high-flying air show stunts to look out for!
It’s always fun to watch airplanes performing various tricks and stunts. To get the most out of your experience at the up-and-coming Wings Over Camarillo Airshow, you need to know what you are looking at (and it’s a great way to impress your friends and family). Today, we will go through a list of air show stunts to look for at this year’s event. If you want to know your half-Cubans from your ‘barrel rolls’, read on…
11 Air Show Stunts to Look for at This Year’s Event!
Are you excited?
You should be! With a range of performers at this year’s show, it will be loud, fast, and really fun. Here’s some air show stunts you can expect to see:
1. Knife-Edge Pass
Does the thought of ‘flying on a knife edge’ sound just a little bit thrilling? That’s because it is! Allow us to explain.
In air show terms, whenever an airplane flies along with the crowd, this is called a ‘pass’… You’ll be amazed at how close they are.
Do you know what’s more exciting?
When an airplane is flying along on its side! Because the airplane relies on inertia and the lift generated by the tail, this maneuver must be performed fast. It has to be seen to be believed!
2. Break
No, we aren’t talking about making your way to a food stall for something to eat!
A break is one of the most exciting air show stunts to see. This is normally performed by a formation of aircraft. They start by flying right at the crowd. At a vital moment, they all ‘break’ in different directions. It’s hard to know which direction to turn!
3. Loop
This is one of the most famous stunts around. During the dawn of aviation, there was a special dinner held for pilots who performed this (at the time, dangerous) maneuver. They served dessert first and the appetizer at the end!
This is where an airplane enters a dive and then pulls sharply up until it is inverted… All the way around, it goes until it is back where it started. These loops are pretty harsh on the pilot. They can experience up to 9 times the force of gravity with each loop!
4. Cuban
A Cuban is a sort of loop, except it seems like the pilot has changed their mind. Once the airplane is 75% of the way around, the pilot performs a snappy half roll, so the airplane is the right way up again. You’ll often see pilots performing this maneuver twice, forming a figure of 8 patterns in the sky!
If they’ve got the smoke trails blazing (hint: they will), you’ll be able to tell when they’ve performed a pair of Cubans!
5. Barrel Roll
This is an eye-catching spectacle performed by big planes and little ones. The aircraft will fly along the flight line and corkscrew onto its side, its back, its other side, and then roll wings level. If you want to see what it looks like in the cockpit, take a quick watch of this video… This is a real favorite in aircraft such as the Pitts special, which has a really fierce roll rate and can do scores of these really quickly!
This year, you will be able to watch both Judy Phelps and Sammy Mason fly in their Pitts!
6. Running Break
A running break is where the aircraft scream along the flight line at high speed before pulling up into a turn and flying away from the crowd. It is a favorite with the bigger aircraft as it gives everyone a great chance to get a full view of the airplane in action. Military aircraft perform running breaks in combat action. They normally drop their ordinance then make a break for safety! You’ll see examples of this during our European theatre (complete with pyrotechnics!)
7. Tailslide
This is a really dynamic maneuver that is performed by propeller-driven airplanes and fighters alike! Have you ever wondered what happens when an airplane flies straight up and runs out of lift? Well, pay attention. This stunt is a great demonstration.
The airplane flies vertically until gravity overpowers the engine. It slides backward before finally tumbling to start flying normally. During this stunt, the pilot is actually weightless for a short time!
8. Hesitation Roll
These air show stunts are similar to a barrel roll, except the airplane stops at various points on the way round. You can normally see this completed in four points. It’s great as it gives you a fantastic view of the airplane from all sides!
9. Mirror Pass
Ever seen that scene in ‘Top-Gun’ where the F-15 is canopy to canopy with the MiG? This is a perfect example of a mirror pass. It gets its name from the fact that the airplanes look like mirror images of each other when viewed from the side. This stunt takes a lot of skill and practice and tends to be limited to the smaller aircraft.
10. Wingover
A wingover is an often performed stunt at air shows and is a real treat to see! The airplane flies up until it looks like it is about to fall out of the sky. The pilot stomps on the rudder, and it changes direction in mid-air. If you’ve never seen an airplane make a handbrake turn, now is your chance!
11. Opposition Pass
We thought we’d finish with a maneuver that will have everyone excited. How are your nerves? Depending on your demeanor, this will have you clapping with glee or covering your eyes (while peeking through your fingers).
An opposition pass is exactly as it sounds… Two airplanes, flying toward each other head-to-head at high speed. If the pilots do their job right (and they always do), they will cross right in front of the crowd! It doesn’t get more exciting than this!
Final Thought
The Wings Over Camarillo air show promises to be a spectacular event with plenty to see and do. You’ll even be able to take a look around the airplanes before and after the show! With fighter jets, stunt planes, warbirds, and everything in between, there is lots of fun to be had. See if you can spot any of the air show stunts we’ve given on our list of the top 11 stunts to look for at this year’s event!
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