A Lomcovák (or incorrectly spelled Lomcevak) is a family of extreme

aerobatic maneuver Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dogfights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others. Nearly all aircraft are capab ...

s where the aircraft, with almost no forward speed, rotates on chosen

axes Axes, plural of '' axe'' and of '' axis'', may refer to * ''Axes'' (album), a 2005 rock album by the British band Electrelane * a possibly still empty plot (graphics) See also * Axess (disambiguation) *Axxess (disambiguation) Axxess may refer to ...

due to the

gyroscopic precession Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In oth ...

and

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

of the

rotating Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...

propeller.What is Lomcovak?
Djaerotech.com Questions. Retrieved 2013-06-05

Etymology

The word originates from a quote by the Czechoslovak aerobatic pilot Ladislav Bezák's mechanic at the 1958 air show in Brno, Czechoslovakia. When asked by

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

s what Bezák's tumble maneuvers were, he jokingly called them ''Lomcovaks'' explaining it means headache. The expression ''Lomcovat'' is commonly used in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

to describe the rotating motions of someone who has had one drink too many of its infamous alcoholic drinks called ''

slivovitz Slivovitz is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). If anyone else has a dictionary of some Slavic language that translates your word for slivovitz as "plum brandy", please a ...

''. ''Lomcovák'' is the slang name for the shot of a strong drink. This expression comes from word "lomcovat" which means ''to jiggle; shake violently'' (violently move with short moves with something, what is attached hardly - e.g. the jail grille). The etymology origin is in '' Lomit'' which means "to diffract; to divide; braking (rod)," most likely a reference to the stick manipulation during the manoeuvre. In the 1940s Czech aerobatic pilots called this a ''Talířek'' which means a small

saucer A saucer is a type of small dishware. While in the Middle Ages a saucer was used for serving condiments and sauces, currently the term is used to denote a small plate or shallow bowl that supports a cup – usually one used to serve coffee ...

, after the horizontal rotary movement of the aircraft.Miroslav A. Liškutín, Czechoslovak fighter pilot and RAF Personnel No. 787 424/158 235

Description

The Lomcovak is a family of freestyle maneuvers performed at

airshows An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...

. It is not in the

Aresti catalog The Aresti Catalog is the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) standards document enumerating the aerobatic manoeuvers permitted in aerobatic competition. Designed by Spanish aviator Colonel José Luis Aresti Aguirre (1919–2003), ...

ue and therefore may not be flown in

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indiv ...

. Lomcovaks are very disorienting but otherwise fairly gentle for the pilot. However they are highly stressful on the aircraft structure and should only be performed by aeroplanes built for aerobatics. The worst effects are on the engine mounts, crankshaft and propeller. There have been quite a few cases of major damage to these components during Lomcovaks.

Flying techniques

Flying a Lomcovak will vary in technique from aeroplane to aeroplane and

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

to pilot. Perhaps the most difficult thing about flying them is to use the

throttle A throttle is the mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ...

not as a speed control, but as a control of the

and

. There are at least five basic Lomcovaks, each one with several derivatives. These are the three most common types:

Main Lomcovak

: Intention: tumble the airplane continuously with each tumble's

plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * ''Planes' ...

turned relative to the previous one. Enter from a near vertical climb then let the

airspeed In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air. Among the common conventions for qualifying airspeed are: * Indicated airspeed ("IAS"), what is read on an airspeed gauge connected to a Pitot-static system; * Calibrated ...

decay to near zero and initiate a

snap roll Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dogfights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others. Nearly all aircraft are capab ...

by using full down

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...

and, for a

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

rotating engine, full left

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

. The aircraft will rotate on all three axes and perform three end-over-end negative "g" tumbles, each tumble being at about 45° to the plane of the last. The maneuver ends when the aircraft runs out of momentum and begins falling with enough speed for the airflow past the control surfaces to stop the tumbling. Neutralising the controls then causes the aircraft to recover nose down.

Cap Lomcovak

: Intention: execute an

outside loop Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dogfights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others. Nearly all aircraft are capab ...

of 360° with the lateral axis vertical to the earth. The pilot enters from a hammerhead turn (stall turn) and as the fuselage reaches knife-edge flight at the top, gives it full down

. The result will be the aircraft's pivoting about its

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

in a perfect

pirouette In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter (90°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns. Multiple, consecutive turns are ...

. The throttle is utilised to make the wing remain vertical.

Conic Lomcovak

: Intention: make the fuselage trace a

cone A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...

inclined at 15° to the vertical. The ''positive'' variant uses the nose of the aircraft as the focal point and has the tail describe a full horizontal circle. The bottom of the wing is

tangent In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point. Leibniz defined it as the line through a pair of infinitely close points on the curve. Mo ...

to the surface of the cone during the entire maneuver. The pilot closes the throttle as soon as rotation starts and opens it to recover. Exit from the maneuver can be achieved via a Hammerhead or a

Tailslide The tailslide is an aerobatic maneuver that starts from level flight with a 1/4 loop up into a straight vertical climb (at full power) until the aircraft loses momentum. When the aircraft's speed reaches zero and it stops climbing, the pilot maint ...

References

External links

Diagram of a 45°-Up Lomcevak
Fighter Combat International
Videos of performances of Lomcovak
O V Guide. {{Aerobatics Aerobatic maneuvers