Aerobatic Flying Lessons
Discussion
Ultimate High is the outfit I've heard most people raving about, I think they've got some old Bulldogs on their fleet along with Extra 300s.
www.ultimatehigh.co.uk/
www.ultimatehigh.co.uk/
Well, the London Aerobatic Company can offer instruction in a Cap10b, principally out of Denham but also out of North Weald. If your brother is serious about flying competition aerobatics, I'd say go straight to Alan Cassidy at White Waltham and fly the Pitts S2A. Ultimate High at Kemble is a fair step from Essex, and arguably neither the Bulldog nor the Extra are the ideal aerobatic training platform (not aerobatic enough vs. more aerobatic than enough).
>> Edited by eharding on Wednesday 27th July 11:51
>> Edited by eharding on Wednesday 27th July 11:51
As it has been said its all dependant on what level you want to go to. I was never into ‘hardcore’ aeros although I did enjoy them (I know it’s like owning a Ferrari and not liking driving fast).
As it’s been said Alan is a very very good instructor, at a reasonable cost, but using the Extra I would be worried that it would be like doing your PPL on a F15! If your brother has not had any experience of aerobatics then perhaps the best thing to do is to get some time in a 152 aerobat or something similar, i.e. something that is not going to try and detach your limbs on your first outing. I started in a 152 Aerobat then Jet Provost MK5, YAK52 the Extra 300L, with the odd Tornado GR4 trip thrown in for good measure! I know some people that just cant handle the ‘g’ of the Extra and really ‘g’ is what flying the 300 is all about. In a 152 Aerobat you can still pull 4g, so no worries there.
Best thing to do is mail Alan and see what he suggests
As it’s been said Alan is a very very good instructor, at a reasonable cost, but using the Extra I would be worried that it would be like doing your PPL on a F15! If your brother has not had any experience of aerobatics then perhaps the best thing to do is to get some time in a 152 aerobat or something similar, i.e. something that is not going to try and detach your limbs on your first outing. I started in a 152 Aerobat then Jet Provost MK5, YAK52 the Extra 300L, with the odd Tornado GR4 trip thrown in for good measure! I know some people that just cant handle the ‘g’ of the Extra and really ‘g’ is what flying the 300 is all about. In a 152 Aerobat you can still pull 4g, so no worries there.
Best thing to do is mail Alan and see what he suggests
Alan *can* offer instruction in an Extra 300, but
agreed, it's not an ideal aerobatic trainer - his
principal platform is the Pitts S2A. Contact details
agreed, it's not an ideal aerobatic trainer - his
principal platform is the Pitts S2A. Contact details
I don't agree with learning aeros in a C152 aerobat. Despite the name it's not really much cop (and I've got over 1500 hrs instructing on them). The harness is crap, you fall out of the seat when inverted, during which the engine stops anyway so it's useless for proper inverted flight or a decent slow roll. The high wing inhibits lookout and it doesn't have enough poke or control authority.
A better compromise without going straight to something like an Extra would be the Bulldog or Firefly. I teach aeros on the Firefly, and the M260 in particular can be persuaded to gyrate quite satisfactorally. +6/-3g and full inverted systems with no time limit, negative g strap and a fabulous view round the canopy. Roll rate isn't fantastic, but it is sufficient.
Depends where you want to end up...
ST
A better compromise without going straight to something like an Extra would be the Bulldog or Firefly. I teach aeros on the Firefly, and the M260 in particular can be persuaded to gyrate quite satisfactorally. +6/-3g and full inverted systems with no time limit, negative g strap and a fabulous view round the canopy. Roll rate isn't fantastic, but it is sufficient.
Depends where you want to end up...
ST
You're not 'supposed' to do aeros in a standard C152, although it's stressed to over 4 g. The aerobat version has strengthened wing struts and reinforced fin to take the g limit to 6. It also has jettisonable doors so you can step outside if the wing does snap in half.
Heard of all sorts of 'non-aerobatic' aeroplanes being aerobatted. Lancasters were spun in WWII, a Sunderland flying boat was looped and a certain airline's Jetstreams used to be barrel-rolled on positioning flights...
Concorde was regularly barrel-rolled in flight test, as was Boeing's prototype 707 after the test-piot was told to 'make it look good' during a demonstration for potential customers.
ST
Heard of all sorts of 'non-aerobatic' aeroplanes being aerobatted. Lancasters were spun in WWII, a Sunderland flying boat was looped and a certain airline's Jetstreams used to be barrel-rolled on positioning flights...
Concorde was regularly barrel-rolled in flight test, as was Boeing's prototype 707 after the test-piot was told to 'make it look good' during a demonstration for potential customers.
ST
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