page_title: Wingover
section_title: Sequence and use
hierarchical_section_title: Wingover / Sequence and use
caption_attribution_description: English: A wingover maneuver
context_page_description: A wingover is an aerobatic maneuver in which an airplane makes a steep climb, followed by a vertical flat-turn. The maneuver ends with a short dive as the plane gently levels out, flying in the opposite direction from which the maneuver began.
context_section_description: The aircraft makes a tight, 180 degree change in heading while covering minimum horizontal distance. The maneuver begins by making roughly a quarter loop, bringing the plane up into a vertical or near-vertical climb, allowing the airspeed to drop. Before the airplane stalls (begins to fall) the pilot applies hard rudder input, bringing the plane into a sweeping, vertical flat-turn, during which the wing swings over the top of the turn toward the direction of the nose. Both the lowered airspeed and gravity provide assistance with the turn, similar to a stall turn (hammerhead turn), except the plane never actually stalls. Instead, as the speed decreases, the plane makes a gentle, 180 degree flat-turn over the top of the climb, then dives to the original altitude along a parallel flightpath, completing a quarter loop to return to level flight at the original speed.
  The wingover is an energy-management maneuver. It is often used in dogfighting as an alternative to the split-s, when a fast turn-around is needed but a loss in altitude and a change in airspeed is not. Because the aircraft does not roll, it also has the advantage of keeping the cockpit facing the same direction during the turn, allowing the pilot to maintain sight of the opponent. Wingover-type maneuvers are often used to abruptly end other climbing maneuvers, like chandelles and high Yo-Yos, "kicking over" the nose when the enemy shows signs of falling or trying to dive away. One such maneuver was described by Major Robert S. Johnson, in an account of a battle during World War II:
  Habit brought my head swiveling around to look behind me. I was just in time to see a Fokke-Wulf bouncing, nose twinkling from the .30 calibers. My left hand slammed forward on the throttle, my right hand hauled back on the stick, my heart went to the top of my head and the Thunderbolt leapt upward. I racked the jug into a tight left climbing turn, staying just above and in front of the pursuing Fokke-Wulf.... To get any strikes on me, the [German] had to turn inside me, and then haul his nose up steeply to place the bullets ahead of me. The Fokke-Wulf just didn't have it. At 8,000 feet he stalled out while the Thunderbolt roared smoothly; I kicked over into a roll and locked onto his tail."
  The wingover is also a common maneuver during air shows and aerobatic competitions.
caption: Diagram of a basic wingover
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