Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Hans on January 14, 2001, 07:23:00 PM

Title: What is a ground loop?
Post by: Hans on January 14, 2001, 07:23:00 PM

I always thought a ground loop refered to when a tail dragger aircraft basically spun out from braking.

Or is it when it flips head over heels on its nose from braking?

Hans.

Title: What is a ground loop?
Post by: PropNut on January 14, 2001, 08:01:00 PM

A ground loop is typically associated with taildraggers its caused by braking,bad crosswinds etc.. the plane will try to turn on the ground abruptly causing a side skid and many times will drag a wing tip and if your lucky you don't collapse a gear ...nose gear aircraft are almost immune to this. If you land in AH with a gear damaged the result is a ground loop.

Title: What is a ground loop?
Post by: TheWobble on January 14, 2001, 08:48:00 PM

ahhh...breakdancing airplanes...<sigh>

Title: What is a ground loop?
Post by: hblair on January 14, 2001, 09:31:00 PM

I always thought a ground loop was cuased by the pilot pulling the stick back too far on take-off before the plane was moving fast enough for the wings to have enough air traveling over them to keep the plane level, this causing the slipstream and/or torque to cause a violent roll, flipping the plane upside down. Many ME109 pilots were killed or injured due to ground rolls.

Title: What is a ground loop?
Post by: Jigster on January 14, 2001, 10:24:00 PM

"ground loop" was a euphemism for whenever a plane was damaged by dragging a wing along the ground, skidding into a small horizontal loop and usually ruining the wing tip or wing structure.

This encompasses cross wind accidents, brake failures, bad landings in general, accidents on earth fields, etc. Also includes catching a wing on the ground while taxing, usually going to fast for a differential turn.

-- paraphrase from Eugene Fletcher's LBC.

Overbraking was called a nose stand according the Yeager and Fletcher.

And severe overbraking that caused flips were called "Ass-over-tea-kettle" by Yeager
 (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)

And Yeager addressed ground rolls too..."impatient pilots basically, who usually one way or another eventually became grease spots on the tarmac...this was just one of ways"

That doesn't take into consideration combat conditions though.

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