Going on a real aerobatic flight, tips needed for MSFS practice in the 152 Aerobat

Hi,

I’ve booked an aerobatic flight in a 152 in a couple of weeks, hoping the pilot allows me to get a bit of hands on - so interested in some practice. Also a few key questions:

  1. What altitude is considered optimal for aerobatics? I do get sinus trouble flying sometimes so want to keep as low as is safe. I’ll pop some sudafed before the flight in the hope it prevents this.

  2. I can’t for the life of me do a roll in the MSFS 152 aerobat while keeping the nose pointed ahead (like I can do in the Extra 300), the nose always drops when I’m upside down. Is there some technique I’m missing, or is this just a limitation for this aircraft?

  3. Should I go completely empty stomach, or safe to have a meal a few hours before?

  4. I’m keen to experience weightlessness for as long as possible, been trying to see how long I can hold zero g in the MSFS 152 and it’s not long :frowning:

#1 3000 ft AGL minimum…5000 is better

#2 As you roll past 90 degrees, feed in more DOWN elevator

#3 Depends on your tolerance for unusual attitudes…bananas are safe…they taste as good coming up as they did going down :slight_smile:

#4 It’s not long in ‘real life’ either!

Hope this helps…have fun!

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Not an aerobatic pilot although I have experienced the real thing a time or two - the Pitts Special was outstanding! But I’ve got quite a lot of IRL C150 hours so to offer some thoughts:

1/ I wouldn’t consider doing aerobatics myself below 3000ft to give time to recover if things went wrong. However a professional aerobatic pilot could conceivably go down to 6 inches, subject of course to the usual obstacle rules (500ft from any person, thing or obstacle). But I don’t think that will happen…

2/ The C152 is simply not powerful enough to maintain the necessary airsped to do a clean roll. Only way is to dive to max approved speed to gain some inertia and even then it may/may not do it.

3/ Are you prone to motion sickness? Different folk react in different ways to high G - are you prone to sea or travel sickness? Personally I don’t think it matters but I’d leave AT LEAST an hour after any kind of substantial meal.

4/ It won’t be for long - unless the aircraft has a modified fuel system at zero or negative G the fuel flow stops and the engine dies…

But what the hell - just go for it, it’ll be a memorable experience whatever happens! But it won’t be the same in the sim as IRL.

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For motion sickness, up and down is fine, but I don’t cope well with yaw. I know this from theme parks - I’m fine with rollercoasters but anything that spins forget about it.

Hmmm. Best tell the pilot before the flight then as some aerobatic manoeuvres can feature lateral movement. But a good aerobat should be able to keep them to a minimum.

Enjoy, let us know how you got on and how you feel it compares to the sim.

Do not go on an empty stomach. Just go and have fun. Tell the pilot ahead of time you want some stick time, and they will probably be accommodating when possible. Also, get some Dramamine (which you can take as a passenger but not as pilot) as insurance. Don’t be afraid to speak up and tell the pilot you need them to fly straight and level until you’re ready to do the next maneuver if you start to feel sick.

My aerobatic experience is limited. My employer paid for all the pilots to fly out to Arizona to do upset recovery training in Extra 300s a few years ago. It was a 3-day course. I never lost my lunch, but it was close the first day. Being tossed around in a very aerobatic airplane in the Arizona heat and not losing my lunch was a challenge (as it was for everyone that went). Dramamine helped as did flying straight and level until ready to do the next maneuver. Good luck and have fun with it.

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I don’t do well on spinny rides at amusement parks either, and I also have a tendency to feel nauseous when I do too many turns about a point, and it won’t go away until I land. That’s the only maneuver in airplanes that bothers me.

But I have done multiple spins in a C152 aerobat, and it was a TOTAL BLAST!! And I didn’t feel a single bit sick. Granted, I was in control so that may have had something to do with it, but, really, I don’t think I would have had an issue if my instructor was doing them either.

So I wouldn’t worry too much about feeling sick. Sorry, I don’t know if a full stomach or empty stomach is better.

Don’t expect too much time at zero g however, certainly not at 3000 - 5000 ft altitudes.

Your question about rolling the C152 has already been answered… Yes, the Extra 300 has a tiiiiny bit more power than a C152 :smirk:

Update on this, after a few cancellations due to weather I was finally able to do this last Saturday! The trick to doing the roll is to nose up at the start, so you do a kind of sloppy roll. Also had some fun holding zero g as long as possible and feeling what being in orbit is like. What I found interesting about doing a loop was that the most comfortable part of it was actually when you’re upside down, the rotational force pinning you to seat at around 1g. It’s 2 or 3 Gs the rest of the manoeuvre.

The pilot who took me up was a flight simmer himself and confirmed that sadly the MSFS aerobat doesn’t simulate stall and spin behaviour well at all.

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The first step in initiating an aileron roll in a 152 Aerobat is to pitch down below slightly below the horizon in order to attain 130 mph, then you ease back on the yoke to pitch up approximately 10 degrees above the horizon, then return the elevator to the neutral position, then initiate the full aileron and rudder deflection.

So when is your next flight? :laughing:

I’ve got a bucket list of aviation experiences to do, I’ll probably do a Tiger Moth flight next :slight_smile:

That’s awesome! I figured that once the bug got you, another adventure would soon be afoot.

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If you initiate full rudder deflection in the first half of an aileron roll or slow roll, you’re going to dish the nose so far below the horizon that it’ll probably end as a broken maneuver recovery.

If doing an aileron roll (an aerobat doesn’t slow roll - meaning a negative component while inverted - very well at all):

  1. Pitch down for entry airspeed (use caution not to over-rev the engine).
  2. Pitch back to the horizon briefly.
  3. Firm pull to about 30 degrees pitch up.
  4. Neutral elevator, neutral (or almost) rudder, full aileron deflection.
  5. As you roll through the 180 (inverted) while allowing the nose to fall to maintain roughly 1g, start applying top rudder (in the direction of roll). This will both help you complete the roll, and keep the nose from falling too far below the horizon.
  6. Once wings level, recover to horizon.
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