The exploit of Peter Nesterov. The loop obeyed the Russian aviator

Soviet pilots, fighting with Nazi vultures during the war, committed more than six hundred ram. This feat, protecting the Moscow sky, was made by pilot Victor Talalikhin, becoming an example to other heroes. As a maneuver, allowing to escape from the attack from the rear hemisphere, the so-called "dead loop" was widely used. The author of these widespread and classic aviation techniques is the Russian pilot Pyotr Nesterov. The loop and ram were performed by him for the first time in the world. Not everyone remembers this today.

What was the "safe flight" in the presentation of the British and the French

At the dawn of aviation, the theory of aeronautics was dominated by the concept of a safe flight, according to which all maneuvers produced by an aircraft were to be carried out in a horizontal plane. Vertical movements were allowed only when climbing and descending. Natural fear of the sky dominated both in theory and in minds, any bank was perceived as an emergency situation and required immediate measures to eliminate it. But the officially adopted concept was and the enemy. He wanted to fly boldly, bend "lag" with a roll and even turn his airplane, as the Russians say, "upside down." This did not fit the understanding of venerable foreign aviators. There was nothing surprising in that the Russian officer-pilot Pyotr Nesterov, a graduate of the Gatchina aeronautical school, dreamed of "figured" piloting.

Education

The destiny of Peter Nesterov can serve as an example of enthusiasm for his work and selfless devotion to his native land. The loop made by him became the pinnacle of his skill, but it was preceded by a tremendous amount of work. A hereditary military man, he first received an artillery education. The level of the higher command school of Imperial Russia can be judged by how well the future pilot understood mathematics. It was this knowledge that enabled him to carry out the necessary theoretical calculations, substantiating the need for rolls on bends and the possibility of vertical maneuvers, previously thought to be deadly tricks. Engineering skills contributed to the implementation of numerous own designs and changes in the layout of serial airplanes. All this was inaccessible to most of the pilots of the time, armed with courage and aerobatics skills, but nothing more.

How it was

The theory is good, but its provisions need practical evidence. After several long flights, the brave aviator came very close to realizing his main idea. In 1913 everything was ready. The "Newport-4" aircraft, equipped with a seventy-strong "Gnome" engine, stood on the Syretsky field in Kiev. The audience, gathered here, was waiting for the main character of the upcoming action, the pilot Nesterov. The loop was then called "dead" because of the extreme riskiness of this "deadly number". The day of August 27 became the date of the change of this aviation term. He received the name of a man who conquered the eternal fear of mankind and gave freedom to maneuver pilots of the future. Now the air has become a reliable support, regardless of its spatial position.

What is a dead loop, named after 1913 by Nesterov's loop

The loop is a vertical maneuver of the aircraft in the form of a closed circle, hence the name. It can be ascending or descending, depending on the position of the starting point relative to the ordinate, which is finite in the axis. Currently, the athletic performance of the figure provides for the maximum approximation of its shape to the circumference (the more "round" it is, the higher the qualification of the pilot). In real air combat, this rule is not observed, too "clean" performance allows the enemy to foresee the position of the target, which facilitates its defeat, so most often it is oval, stretched vertically or horizontally. At the time of Nesterov, the loop was ascending, its form had no special significance. The fact that at some point the pilot, with his airplane, was hanging over the ground in an inverted state, was admired.

Abroad

History teaches that Russian priorities are recognized abroad extremely unwillingly. A zealous attitude to one's own superiority (most often imaginary) was manifested in the deed of the Russian pilot. After 12 days, Nesterov's loop was replicated by the French aviator Pegu. Undoubtedly, it was a desperate act, the courage of the ace can not be denied, but for some reason even in Russia this press of our pilot was given more attention by the press than by the pioneer and theoretician of aerobatics. Abroad and now Nesterov's loop is called "Loop The Loop". However, even today they believe that the radio was invented by Marconi ...

Nesterov's loop in the "Wartunder"

There is such a computer game "War Thunder". Nesterov's loop in it is a rather complex figure of aerobatics, requiring a certain level of "pilot" -geimer. To perform it, it is important to gain the necessary speed (usually up to 400 km / h) and smoothly take the control handle to yourself, keeping this position until the horizon aligns. It is important not to allow critical roll, leading in the game, and in conditions of real aerobatics to stall in a horizontal uncontrolled spin. Nesterov's loop in "War Thunder" is beautiful and complex, but sitting behind the monitor, it is impossible to fully imagine the whole complex of the pilot's feelings, which turns out to be upside down for a moment. In addition, in case of failure, the consequences of wrong actions will be limited by a feeling of vexation. The sky is not a computer, it does not forgive mistakes ...