Wing Warping is Cool! - SimHQ Forums

#3057527 - 07/21/10 10:22 PM Re: Wing Warping is Cool! [Re: Requiem]
SYN_Speck Member Registered: 01/03/07 Posts: 174 Loc: Whitegrass, WY, USA	Originally Posted By: Requiem Originally Posted By: JAMF To me the first image is the Immelman, the second is a split-S. The difference between an Immelman and a Hammerhead is the stall part, as the full description is 'a hammerhead stall': - An Immelman is developed to turn around while retaining maximum energy and so you apply rudder at the top while still going at a good clip. (Your 'down' path is some distance away from the 'up' path) - A hammerhead is performed by flying straight up and the plane almost comes to a stop and stall, you apply rudder to point the nose down. (Your 'down' path is almost matching the 'up' path) It's interesting how differently things are seen. I see a split-S as a reverse Immelman Immelman levels out at a height above where you started with less energy. Split-S levels out at a height below where you started with more energy. With apologies for quibbling, I think both maneuvers retain energy; they just change the form it's expressed in. Immelman trades speed (kinetic) for altitude (potential). Split-S trades altitude for speed.
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Originally Posted By: Nachwuchs

With apologies for quibbling, I think both maneuvers retain energy; they just change the form it's expressed in.
Immelman trades speed (kinetic) for altitude (potential).
Split-S trades altitude for speed.

True but with any energy conversion some is made unavailable/lost.

To use the potential energy gained by performing an Immelman, you trade that altitude back for speed by diving again, in the same way as the Split-S does.

That gives you two conversions instead of one: Speed -> Altitude -> Speed, instead of the single conversion of the Split-S: Altitude -> Speed.

Doesn't matter if you can stay at the greater altitude long enough for your engine to further increase your energy, but if you're making a series of quick manouvers then you'll have more energy by (for example) diving from 10,000' to 5,000' directly, rather than climbing from 10,000' to 15,000', and then diving to 5,000'.