FLY RC MAGAZINE

HOW TO

by Scott Stoops

Flying the
Hammerhead
Turn

To slow

To fast

Scott Stoops is a commercial pilot for United Airlines who flies a full-scale Sukhoi 26MX in IAC competition for fun on his days off. This article was excerpted from his new book, The Pilots Guide to Mastering
Radio Controlled Flight. We are very pleased to offer Scotts insights to our readers, and look forward to
bringing you additional such pieces in the future.the editors

he hammerhead turn is
unquestionably a quintessential aerobatic maneuver.
Done well, it is one of the most
graceful maneuvers Ive ever seen or
flown. I can clearly remember my
first hammerhead flown as a young
student pilot with meager aerobatic
experience, though armed with
strong, yet wildly misplaced, adolescent confidence. With my trusty
7KCAB Bellanca Citabria pointing
straight up, I was told to wait until
the engine and propeller make a
funny sound, followed closely by a
little vibration. Then and only then,
kick the rudder over, and point it at
the ground. I did as told, and the
maneuver worked perfectly. Who
would have thought that my only
reference for the turn-around was a
sound and an odd vibration? The
Citabrias airspeed indicator bottomed out at 40 mph, so it was unusable. This was truly seat of the
pants flying. While flying a hammerhead turn in a model shares
some of those same nebulous seat
of the pants qualities, it is also
somewhat mechanical. With some
simple techniques, it is a maneuver
that can set your flying apart from
the other pilots at the field.
The hammerhead turn is also
known, in some circles, as the hammerhead stall. That is a misnomer.
Properly flown, the maneuver does
not cause the wing to stall. I know
what youre thinking; doesnt the
model stop in mid-air? Absolutely.
But stopping isnt the same as
stalling. Stick with me, and Ill make
myself clear. As the model decelerates on the vertical line, it will slow
nearly to a stop. At that precise

28 FLY RC MAGAZINE

moment, the model rotates in yaw to a vertical down position before its decent and
recovery to level flight. The model does
slow to a stop as it runs out of energy, but
at no point does the wing stall. For the wing
to stall, the critical angle of attack must be
exceeded. Except for the transitions from
and to level flight, the wing is near zero
angle of attack throughout a hammerhead
and never stalls. For this reason, I prefer
hammerhead turn. Whew, now that we
have that hammered out, lets fly a hammerhead turn!

point, and maintain that throttle setting

through the entire turn-around.
At the precise moment that the model
stops its vertical motion, add full left rudder, and increase the right aileron to maintain a true vertical track (no wing torque)
during the turn-around. The model should
pivot within one wingspan diameter, to a
nose down position. During your first few
hammerhead turns youll need to adjust the
amount of rudder and aileron needed to
rotate the model to the vertical down-line
without torquing. For most of my models, I
end up using full left rudder and around 1/4
- 1 / 2 right aileron. If you use too little
aileron, the model will torque at the top of

the hammerhead. Torquing is the tendency

of the model at very slow airspeeds to roll
to the left in response to the effects of
torque.
THE KICK POINT

The point at which you initiate the turnaround is often referred to as the kick
point (in full scale flying the rudder control is operated by your feet, thus the kick
of rudder for the turn-around). The kick
point for the turn-around portion of the
maneuver is something that will take time
and experience to perfect. Some models
dont have enough rudder authority to yaw
the nose rapidly at zero forward (vertical)

Perfect

ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID BAKER

FLYING THE HAMMERHEAD

Begin the hammerhead turn from a level

line (level flight) with enough throttle to
draw a long vertical up-line but not so
much that the model climbs so high that it
is hard to see. Execute a 1/4 loop up to a vertical line. You will probably need to add
right rudder during the pull up to maintain
good yaw balance on the up-line. As the
model decelerates, add enough right aileron
to counter torques tendency to roll the
model to the left. This input will increase as
the model slows. Adjust the throttle to
maintain a slow deceleration, up to and
including reducing the throttle enough to
stop the model at the point that you
want. Do not close the throttle at the top of
the maneuver, as you need thrust over the
rudder to initiate the turn-around. A good
technique is to reduce the throttle to a point
that allows a slow deceleration and stop

JULY 2005 29

HOW TO FLY THE HAMMERHEAD TURN

motion, so the turn-around will have to
occur earlier (at a higher airspeed), or with
a higher throttle setting. In some cases, a
short burst of throttle is enough to allow a
smooth yaw transition to a vertical line
down.
A perfect kick point will cause the model
to rotate within one wingspan radius to a
vertical nose-down position. If the kick
point is early, the model will fly over the
top of the hammerhead (rather than scribe a
tight pirouette), and the radius of the turnaround will be too large. If the kick point is
late, the model may actually rotate while
sliding backwards slightly (tail-slide).
Adjust the airspeed, timing, and throttle
setting at the kick point to perfect the
turn-around.
As the nose of the model transitions to a
vertical down position, sharply reduce the
rudder input. Done precisely, the model
will snap around in yaw into a vertical
down-line. Try to avoid over-yawing past
the intended vertical position. Once the
model has transitioned to the vertical
down-line, your work is not done. Make
sure that you actually establish the vertical
down-line. Depending upon the quality of
the turn-around, you may have to correct

30 FLY RC MAGAZINE

pitch, roll, and yaw to re-establish the vertical line. Finish the maneuver with a normal
1/4 loop to a level line. To mix it up, you can
add partial or full rolls to the vertical lines
before and after the kick point, as well as
outside looping segments (starting or ending inverted) as a transition to the vertical
line.
COMMON MISTAKES

Poor quality vertical up-line. This makes the

entire maneuver much harder than it needs
to be.
I Insufficient aileron input before, during,
and after the kick point.
I

Late kick for the turn-around.

Early kick for the turn-around.

The hammerhead turn can result in a snap

roll, if flown poorly, or even a spinning
departure from the vertical line (usually
associated with a late kick point). This is
due to the low aircraft energy, high torque
from the rotating propeller, and the large
yaw input required to pivot the nose back
towards the ground. An unintended spin is
so common in full-scale competition that we

have given it an unofficial name: the hammerspin. Be sure youre prepared to recover from a spin if the maneuver goes poorly
(close the throttle, let go of the right stick,
add rudder opposite the direction of the
spin, and recover normally).
CONCLUSION

In my full-scale Sukhoi 26mx the hammerhead turn is one of the few maneuvers that I
find thoroughly relaxing to fly in competition. Its long up and down-lines allow plenty of time to enjoy the view and think about
the next maneuver. In modeling, I find the
same quiet satisfaction when flying hammerheads. Watching the model gracefully
pivot and turn in the sky is truly a sight to
behold. Through good techniques and lots
of practice, I am confident that youll soon
be wowing your buddies at the field with
your precision hammerheads. Good luck,
and remember, aerobatics make the world
go round. =
Links
Visit www.rcpilotguide.com for more information on Scott Stoops book.
For more information, please see our source
guide on pg.__.