Aerobatic Flying
Have you ever wondered how pilots fly upside down? A Red Bull Air Race expert breaks it down.
The concept of flying upside down in a Master Class aerobatics aircraft can be hard to get your head around. Check out the video in the player above and let Red Bull Air RaceTechnical Director, James 'Jimbo' Reed, explain it you.
First, you need to understand how aiplanes maintain correct flying position in general. Planes can stay in the air and fly invertedly on account of air pressure and their wing design – flying upside down depends on the wing scheme of a plane.
A commercial airplane can't fly upside down because of its wing construction; the top of the wing is curved which causes air and wind travel further over the top. When air travels further, speed increases and pressure levels reduce, resulting in higher pressure under the wing which creates lift. Formula 1 engineers employ this design technique to achieve the opposite effect: holding cars down on the race track.
The Master Class aerobatics aircraft employs a symmetric wing that is positioned at an angle on the plane. This is called the angle of attack, which means the top surface has a bit more curve than the bottom surface helping it create more lift.
In order to fly upside down, the airplane pilot simply has to hold the nose up when in an upside down position to change the angle of attack.
Now that you know the science behind inverted flying, check out and follow the excitement of the upcoming Red Bull Air Race season.
