The tailslide is an

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 flying, formation with several others. Nearly all a ...

that starts from level flight with a loop up into a straight vertical climb (at full power) until the

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

loses

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. ...

. When the aircraft's speed reaches zero and it stops climbing, the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

maintains the aircraft in a stand-still position as long as possible (this is greatly helped by

thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to Aircraft flight control system, control the Spacecra ...

on newer

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

), and as it starts to fall to the ground backward, tail first, the nose drops through the

horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

to a vertical down position and the aircraft enters a dive. A loop (push or pull) recovers to level flight. Tailslides will transiently reverse the airflow on many aircraft surfaces, giving abnormal forces compared with forward flight. The control surface linkages must be able to handle these forces without damage or deformation. Not all airplanes capable of aerobatics are also capable of tailslide maneuvers.

"Bell" maneuver

The bell is a variation of the tailslide maneuver, with the only difference being that the pilot performs a roll in the longitudinal axis during the final 1/4 loop (push or pull) while recovering to level flight, out of plane.

Kvochur's bell

Kvochur's bell or Kvochur bell is a variation where the aircraft propels forward almost vertically while simultaneously braking and following the movement of its tail. It is named after Russian test pilot Anatoly Kvochur.Anatoly Kvochur: Perfection is his credo
Yelena Sizova, Iron Eagles, accessed 2009-12-22.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell Tailslide Aerobatic maneuvers

"Bell" maneuver

Kvochur's bell

See also

References