When a plane nose dives ( doing an airshow) do they turn of the engine?

Question

When a plane nose dives ( doing an airshow) do they turn of the engine?

Answer 1

no it's not unsafe and not against 'air regulations'. use power in a dive, don't use power. depends on what you want accomplish. bob hoover used to feather both lycomings in his shrike during his energy management demo.

Answer 2

No they let it idle.  Engine power is life in an airplane.

Good Luck...

Answer 3

No never. Remember, engines are never  shut down in the air, especially at airshows. They are either idled or merely reduced while diving to keep the desired speeds.

Answer 4

No, it's unsafe and against Air Regulations, although they have permission for free flying.

If the pilot is a daredevil, they might attempt descending at full throttle and 3 mach, although (unless if the plane has ALMOST IMPOSSIBLY strong engines) the engines may overheat, or, if the plane has those huge afterburners, could even result in a fire and the pilot unable to safely eject quick enough.

Usually, the afterburners are switched off and throttle is idle (so afterburners are off). It will then return to full throttle.

Answer 5

Absolutly! It saves gas. It also makes it more exciting for both the pilot and the people on the ground. If the pilot can't refire the engine the result is a spectacular burning crater.

Answer 6

The power setting to be used in a dive or nose-down attitude depends on the airplane and the intended maneuver.

"Turn off" could mean several things, but in flight a pilot would normally never "turn off" the engine in the same sense you "turn off" your car engine when you go into the movie theater.  The "flight idle" setting is often used in aerobatic maneuvers.

As mentioned, there are occasional pilots who do complete power off demonstrations, but this is not typical in aerobatic demonstrations.

For much more information about how these maneuvers are made, try an internet search on "aerobatic flying."

Answer 7

Only when demonstrating 'Energy Management" such as Dead Stick maneuvers.  Bob Hoover was the best known performer and probably developed the maneuvers.  I believe he was also the first to execute a Barrel Roll while someone was pouring a drink without spilling a drop.  On video here. http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/...

There are two factors in power selection in a dive.  Vne (airframe redline) and energy required for the next maneuver.  

In normal operation an aircraft would not have the power to exceed it's maximum airframe velocity.  However with gravity acting as a booster it would be possible to redefine terminal velocity.  

The pilot knows how much speed, energy, he needs for the next maneuver so will use power as required to attain that speed.

I starred your question because normally confirm my believes before answering anid in so doing, found the Bob Hoover tape.  He was my hero and I actually saw him perform twice.  Thanks!

Note: Hoover feathered the props because the engines were dead. Hint..... that's why the blades weren't turning.  Look at the video.

Answer 8

NO - but I saw this one guy that would reverse the pitch of his propeller in a dive. That's the equivalent of throwing your car in reverse going downhill. That was really kool. I heard that he tried it one to many times and he crashed it.

Answer 9

No, but in a dive acceleration is great and it might well be idled.  

Aircraft fly fine and land fine with engines turned off.  Bob Hoover not only shut down his engines at airshows, but did aerobatics with the engines shut off.

Airspeed, not engine power, is needed for flight.

Answer 10

No, and there are several reasons why they can get away with it.

1. Many propeller aircraft have a so-called "constant speed prop". This is a variable pitch propeller that adjusts its own pitch continuously in response to the load on the engine; the pilot sets the RPM and doesn't concern himself with what the pitch actually is. It's controlled by a device called the prop governor, which works on engine oil pressure to vary the pitch (I don't know how exactly. It was always a mystery to me). When the load on the engine increases (climb), the governor reduces the pitch to reduce the load so the engine/prop don't slow down; when load decreases (dive), the governor increases pitch to increase load and keep the engine/prop from speeding up (hence the name constant speed prop). I've personally done vertical maneuvers, such as loops, hammerheads and spins in a Bellanca Super Decathlon with a constant speed prop, and can attest that the engine does indeed continue to run at the same speed all the way up and all the way down. There's no worry about overrevving.

2. Altitude and speed are two forms of the same thing: energy. Altitude is potential energy, and airspeed is kinetic. Generally, as you go up and down in vertical maneuvers, you simply trade them back and forth. At the top (like at the top of a loop), you're high and slow; at the bottom, you're low and fast. The trick is to manage your speed and altitude so that you're low and fast, but not too low or too fast. A skilled pilot will make sure to slow down to the proper entry speed before he goes into the dive.

Answer 11

Nope.  That would generally be unsafe.  They might idle it, or just reduce power - depends on the pilot, aircraft, and what's needed for the maneuver.