Overhead break

[AAPalmTree]

Thats what I was saying long before, the overhead is designed for tactical jets. Can anyone fly one? Sure. Does everyone benefit or gain from what they're intended for? No. Average GA planes flying overhead maneuvers, if everyone else is flying a rectangular pattern, can cause some real pattern problems that are wholly unnecessary. There's no practical need for it. It's for specific aircraft in specific cases. No, the A320 won't gain anything from it either, and neither do a formation of Extra 300s or RV-4s for that matter. Not necessarily practical for them. For a formation of tactical jets however, it is the most efficient, quickest, and easiest way to take jets that hate being slow, from an environment of clean and high speed, to dirty and touching down. Thats all. For that matter, when I see civil planes doing an overhead, it's interesting. But when they do one and it screws up a normal pattern at a field, it's embarassing.

I don't think you get what I'm saying. Killing a dead horse here. Interesting topic though.

 

[woodreau]

Helos break too. 300ft and 80kts I believe, then you can recover and land a flight of 6 frogs in a very short amount of time.

Sometimes things get a little messed up when the helos show up at the same time as the Harriers, and then it becomes a matter of who has more fuel left to divert them off to the starboard delta.
Harriers are faster to get a clear deck after landing, Helos take a lot longer to stow and fold to move out of the way for the next cycle.

 

[CFI A&P]

After all this talk of overhead breaks, I'm think I'm going to go do one in the Cub tomorrow, right in the middle of the pattern full of flight training aircraft. Or maybe I'll wait till Sunday when all the $100 omelette flights are taking off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PeanuckleCRJ]

A guy I work with in the training department is a former Thunderbird. Last time we flew together, he told me a story of when they had to park at ORD for their airshow that weekend. The first day, ORD made them all fly individual ILS's. Then, the second day, they let them fly 2 ship ILSs.

Finally, the last day, they talked ORD into letting them do it their way. One approach, all the ships into an overhead break. Way more efficient, and way mo cooler!


I used to do overhead breaks in the PA-28 when I was a CFI. Could pretty much keep it inside the airport fence! (neeerrrdddd)

 

[///AMG]

350 knots and 800' agl is SOP for the "carrier" break, either at the field or the boat. However, some places like Oceana have a pattern somewhere around a 1,500' for noise abatement. At the field, most people are probably 350 ish knots most of the time but at the boat all bets are off. It quickly becomes a competition to see how fast you can come in and how early you can break. With an open deck, 500-600 knots and breaking not later than the "round down" (stern) is not uncommon. A lot of civilian fields will give you the carrier break too, I think because the tower guys just like to see it.

I personally was never a fan of the SH, though I also wasn't a paddles and didn't really care about anything around the boat other than not F-ing it away. Fair or better without scaring anyone and I am a happy man. That said, I'm sure we have both seen a lot of failed attempts at the SH, and I personally was never impressed by anything less than the triple nickel………for the peanut gallery, that is 500', 500 knots, 500 G's.

I think the most insane "overheads" I ever saw were those from middle eastern guys on their turf. Talking 50', 600 knots, and literally a climbing break just to get to pattern altitude. I also watched a (country withheld) ME nation F-16 wing commander take off, immediately roll inverted at about 10', fly down the length of the runway, then roll upright and climb away. He had such tenuous control over the aircraft that the first thought in my mind was "well I am about to watch someone die". He then did it every morning for the 2 weeks I was there. Arab jet pilots will do just about anything to "one up" their American observers, to the point of being scary.

 

[jskibo]

I personally was never a fan of the SH, though I also wasn't a paddles and didn't really care about anything around the boat other than not F-ing it away. Fair or better without scaring anyone and I am a happy man. That said, I'm sure we have both seen a lot of failed attempts at the SH, and I personally was never impressed by anything less than the triple nickel………for the peanut gallery, that is 500', 500 knots, 500 G's.

I think the most insane "overheads" I ever saw were those from middle eastern guys on their turf. Talking 50', 600 knots, and literally a climbing break just to get to pattern altitude. I also watched a (country withheld) ME nation F-16 wing commander take off, immediately roll inverted at about 10', fly down the length of the runway, then roll upright and climb away. He had such tenuous control over the aircraft that the first thought in my mind was "well I am about to watch someone die". He then did it every morning for the 2 weeks I was there. Arab jet pilots will do just about anything to "one up" their American observers, to the point of being scary.

Al Dhafra?

 

[MikeD]

I personally was never a fan of the SH, though I also wasn't a paddles and didn't really care about anything around the boat other than not F-ing it away. Fair or better without scaring anyone and I am a happy man. That said, I'm sure we have both seen a lot of failed attempts at the SH, and I personally was never impressed by anything less than the triple nickel………for the peanut gallery, that is 500', 500 knots, 500 G's.

I think the most insane "overheads" I ever saw were those from middle eastern guys on their turf. Talking 50', 600 knots, and literally a climbing break just to get to pattern altitude. I also watched a (country withheld) ME nation F-16 wing commander take off, immediately roll inverted at about 10', fly down the length of the runway, then roll upright and climb away. He had such tenuous control over the aircraft that the first thought in my mind was "well I am about to watch someone die". He then did it every morning for the 2 weeks I was there. Arab jet pilots will do just about anything to "one up" their American observers, to the point of being scary.

Oman AF pilots consisted for many years of British expat former RAF types, especially on the Jaguar. You want an airshow, these guys would do low passes at the base I was at that would make helicopter pilots cringe.



And some Mirage F1 and Mirage 2000 action.....and a KC-135

 

[NovemberEcho]

Arab jet pilots will do just about anything to "one up" their American observers, to the point of being scary.

That's cause they grow up doing stuff like this

 

[Hacker15e]

for the peanut gallery, that is 500', 500 knots, 500 G's.

You guys landing on the bo-at clearly have way more capable jets than those of us in the AF do, which have silly limits of only 9G.

 

[AAPalmTree]

That's cause they grow up doing stuff like this

Super handy to have those dudes with you on a road trip when you get a flat.

 

[Deleted member 27505]

Thats what I was saying long before, the overhead is designed for tactical jets. Can anyone fly one? Sure. Does everyone benefit or gain from what they're intended for? No. Average GA planes flying overhead maneuvers, if everyone else is flying a rectangular pattern, can cause some real pattern problems that are wholly unnecessary. There's no practical need for it. It's for specific aircraft in specific cases. No, the A320 won't gain anything from it either, and neither do a formation of Extra 300s or RV-4s for that matter. Not necessarily practical for them. For a formation of tactical jets however, it is the most efficient, quickest, and easiest way to take jets that hate being slow, from an environment of clean and high speed, to dirty and touching down. Thats all. For that matter, when I see civil planes doing an overhead, it's interesting. But when they do one and it screws up a normal pattern at a field, it's embarassing.

Well, that depends what civil plane one is flying. In some cases the break is actually safer. Flying a Pitts (or lots of other taildraggers with limited forward visibility) it makes things much easier and safer. You can keep eyeballs on your landing zone through the entire maneuver. Straight in, you lose visual contact with the runway and landing areas. Not to mention that if you ever lose an engine in a high wing loaded aircraft, you really appreciate it happening while in a position to land on a runway. In a Pitts, when you lose an engine, you determine your emergency landing area by taking the keys out of your pocket and dropping them over the side. Where the keys land is pretty much where you are going to land.

 

[esa17]

The biggest advantage I've seen to flying the break is gaining separation from another aircraft.

When your flight (meaning multiple aircraft) departs for an exercise and has a set of landing time restrictions you don't have much time to jack around with the bug-smashers in the pattern.