Advanced Aerobatic Maneuvers for RC Planes

Want to pull off some seriously impressive flying at the field? Here's a helpful 'how to' guide.

In this article, we'll cover some more advanced aerobatic maneuvers you can learn as an RC pilot. These will give you a starting point to practice hurling your models through the sky whilst establishing the foundational skills necessary to go on developing exciting new moves in the future.

Our Choice of Aerobatic Plane

If you haven't picked one up for your fleet yet, we highly recommend you either scratch build or speed build your own FT Edge. It's a superb flyer that can do almost anything you ask it to. Need an aerobatic airplane - we've got it covered.

The Simplest Moves

Like with almost everything in life, it's a good idea to start with the basics. Many of these more basic maneuvers will make up elements of more advanced flying down the road, so it's best if you master these first. If you haven't done much in the way of aerobatic flying before, begin here.

By the way, here's our Flite Test Beginner Series episode on aerobatics which covers some of these following moves.

Wingover

You can wingover with just a simple 3-channel airplane. Pull up into a near verticle climb, bleed off power and then kick the aircraft over to one side with the rudder. You should see the plane pivot around 180-degrees and fall into a dive. After regaining airspeed, pull out 90-degrees and fly away straight and level.

Loop

This is probably the easiest of maneuvers to pull off with any RC airplane with sufficient power. It's mostly a case of pulling back and hoping for the best (although there is a little more to it than that). Start by flying straight and level. Gradually pull back with full power. Don't be too sudden. Climb vertically until the plane is on it's back. At this point let off the throttle and fall back round whilst correcting to keep your circle nice and tidy. You tend to lose altitude with loops, so keep an eye on how low you are before attempting one.

Roll

The Axial Roll is also fairly straightforward. To do this, you're really going to need ailerons. Start by flying straight and level. To begin the roll, input a very small amount of up elevator and then left or right aileron. Keep the throttle stick where it is throughout the roll and then level out. With a true aerobatic plane, you should be able to remove the elevator from the equation: simply give the plane left or right ailerons and the plane will pivot on its axis.

Stepping it up!

Once you've picked up the bare bones of aerobatic flying, you'll be ready to take on the more advanced stuff.

Immelman

This move is named after WWI fighter ace Max Immelmann. As an RC maneuver, it's basically a modified and simplified version of his attack maneuver Immelman used to defeat his opponents during dogfights. Start by performing a simple inside loop: complete a vertical climb with the plane reaching the top on its back. Next, roll with ailerons 180 degrees out of the top. Level the airplane and fly away on a straight and level course.

Split-S

A split-S is rather like the Immelman but in reverse. Start by flying straight and level but then roll 180 degrees. Half-loop downwards whilst making sure to cut your power throughout the dive only reapplying it to fly away.

Cuban-8

This piece of aerobatic flying is a rather complicated combination of the techniques described previously. As in the diagram below, punch it to full power and use up the elevator to go into a half loop, much like an Immelman. Roll the plane using ailerons when just over the top of the loop. Point the nose at the ground at about a 45-degree angle and dive. Now, use the elevator to pull out of the dive and initiate a mirror image maneuver (loop, roll out, dive at 45-degrees).

Half Cuban-8

As the name may suggest, this is essentially half of the Cuban-8. Start by flying level at the bottom of the maneuver. Pull up into a half loop before rolling out at the apogee. Dive down at a 45-degree angle and pull out to regain level flight. This is pretty much an Immelman where you change your direction but maintain the same altitude.

Reverse Half Cuban-8

Yet another variation on this theme, the reverse of the Half Cuban-8 is where you fly your plane up and roll over into a Reverse Immelman. Firstly, fly level and enter a climb of around 45-degrees. After a few seconds of climbing, roll 180-degrees using the ailerons to smoothly invert the airplane. Immediately use the elevator to pull the plane round in a half loop before flying away straight and level.

Top Tips!

Practice - It really does make perfect. Burn through those batteries to perfect the moves you're struggling with.
Use the right aircraft - Flying a large, sluggish, underpowered model isn't the right way to learn. Fly appropriately sporty planes with enough power and maneuverability to teach yourself aerobatics.
Fly like you stole it - Make sure you don't care too much for your planes when you start. There's a higher risk of crashing, so perhaps start with older models where making a mistake doesn't cost you too much.