I watched the Aerospace America airshow in Oklahoma City last Saturday and saw some outstanding full scale flying by some premier performers. The three aerobatic stunts that stand out in my mind were done by Sean D. Tucker in his Oracle Challenger biplane. The first was a double hammerhead. He set up for this stunt as if it were a normal hammerhead, but at the top of the vertical, when he kicked the tail over, he punched the throttle and kicked the tail all the way around for another complete rotation! A 540 degree hammerhead. What an awesome display of power and rudder authority.
He also did a torque roll that seemed to last for about 10 seconds with about 5 or 6 rotations. He didn't lose any altitude in that manuever. Again, an awesome display of power considering this was a full scale airplane.
I am still unsure as to how he performed the other manuever that was a highlight for me. He did a vertical upline at show center, and at the top of the line, he turned the fuselage to horizontal, and performed consecutive wingtip over wingtip axial rolls with no forward speed. It amounted to a freefall with rolls around the centerline of the fuselage. It looked fantastic but I have no idea what it was called or how he did it. Any ideas?
I would love to be able to add these manuevers to my RC Aerobatic repetoire, but my Giles doesn't have enough power to pull off the double hammerhead. I don't have any idea how to attempt the last manuever described and would appreciate any input on how to perform it. My guess is that it has a lot to do with engine torque but not too much thrust so you don't fly out of it. I wonder if he feathered the prop back so he minimized thrust to start the roll without the airplane moving forward.