1. Inside Loop/Outside Loop
The Inside loop is the easiest of all stunt moves, it’s a vertical circle in the sky. Any RC Airplane with elevator is capable of looping.
The Outside loop is also called a bunt. It’s an inside loop with the airplane inverted, so that the top of the plane faces outwards. It can also be described as a 360 degree turn in the vertical plane.
2. Barrel Roll
A Barrel roll is a maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation. It can be described as a combination of a loop and roll (rotation around the front-to-back axis).
The roll requires ailerons, a hinged flight control surface, usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing.
3. Stall Turn – “Hammerhead”
The Stall turn is a maneuver in which you stall the aircraft and then use the rudder to turn it around. Its the first vertical maneuver taught in most aerobatic programs and also on of the more advanced-basic aerobatic moves.
It starts with a quarter loop into a vertical climb.
4. The Knife-Edge Pass
The Knife-edge pass is a low altitude maneuver. The hard part of this aerobatic move is keeping the plane in a straight line because the aircraft wants to turn when banked on its side.
5. Immelman Turn
The Immelman turn refers to two different aircraft maneuver. It is named after German World War 1 ace, Max Immelmann. It refers to an aerial maneuver that results in level flight in the opposite direction at a higher altitude.
So the aircraft accelerates and executes an ascending half loop and then at the top of the loop, when the aircraft is inverted, the pilot executes a half roll to achieve level flight in the opposite direction at a higher altitude.
6. The Split S Turn
The Split S turn is a time-honoured method of disengaging from combat. Known to the Royal Air Force as the Half Roll and the Luftwaffe as the Abschwung. It was used to evade attack.
The Split S is the inverse of the Immelmann turn which refers to vertical turn going downwards. It trades altitude for speed.
7. The Cuban 8
A Cuban 8 is by far the most complex figure. It’s a figure eight aerobatic maneuver for fixed-wing aircraft. By placing a half roll on each of the descending 45° lines, the pilot is able to fly a horizontal figure 8 without performing an outside loop.
For detailed steps on how to perform these aerobatic moves read:”Learning basic aerobatic techniques and maneuvers“
