The Trig Aerobatic Team have a new air show routine for 2012 which skillfully combines high speed and precision flight in an aerial performance that is highly creative and individual to the team.

Flying at speeds of up to 200mph precise timing and flying skills are totally put to the test. To give you an insight into what it’s like to fly a display performance, and what manoeuvres are used Richard and Dave describe some of the basic patterns that form a routine:

Standard Loop

This is one of the first aerobatic patterns that a pilot will learn, and the Trig Team use the loop throughout their display. At the top of the loop weightlessness is experienced, followed by a significant increase of speed in the dive. The loop is performed in line abrest formation with Dave right next to Richard forming a perfectly symmetrical formation. This is one of the most difficult formation positions to fly let alone while looping.

Barrel Roll

Made famous by military pilots the barrel roll requires the Team to fly around the shape of an imaginary barrel in the sky, difficult to execute well the Trig Team show how it should be done. This manoeuvre is carried out by the team in one of its closest formation positions, line astern, where Dave is positioned directly below and slightly behind Richard, the separation at this point is approximately 5 feet!

Stall Turn

The stall turn was originally developed as a dogfighting manoeuvre for turning the table on your opponent. It involves flying vertically up at full power until you run out of speed thereby causing the aeroplane to aerodynamically stall. A stalled aeroplane cannot be controlled so just before this stall Dave and Richard apply full left rudder to turn the aeroplane around on the spot to then fly vertically down to regain speed and bring the aeroplane back under control.

Inside Outside Barrel Roll

Like the Barrel roll but carried out in a mirror formation. To say this was tricky would be an understatement, with Richard flying a precise negative barrel roll at g forces of up to -3, and Dave following the right way up in line astern formation with his propeller just a few feet from Richards head.

The Trig Triple Turnaround

The team fly this signature manoeuvre in echelon formation with Dave flying just behind Richard, enabling him to overlap the wing tips of the aeroplanes, Richard then flies three half Cuban eights onto the three different display axis. This produces a beautifully flowing triangle of smoke loops right in front of your eyes.

The Vertical Formation Change

Richard and Dave pull up to the vertical from 200mph in line abrest formation, they pause in the vertical while Richard carries out a half vertical roll with Dave just feet away to position them in inside outside line abrest formation! The team then continue to loop but with Richard pushing -2g and Dave pulling +2g all the way to the down vertical before they break away from each other for opposition manoeuvres.

Torque Roll

Performed by Richard during his solo he pulls the aeroplane up at +6g to the vertical from 200mph and begins to roll, after two whole vertical rolls the aeroplane runs out of speed but, with the throttle still fully open, the propeller starts to turn the aeroplane! As if that wasn’t enough there isn’t enough horsepower to hold the aeroplane up… so it begins to go backwards whilst rolling!!

Double Avalanche

To start his solo Dave performs a double avalanche. This manoeuvre combines a loop with a two turn spin. Dave pulls up at +5g from 190mph as if he is carrying out a loop but then just before he reaches the top, in the inverted position, puts the aeroplane into a two turn spin pulling the stick all the way back and applying full rudder to put the aeroplane totally out of control! Then after two turns Dave recovers from the spin perfectly on heading and going vertically down and continues his display.