Chandelle

The Chandelle is not used in aerobatic competition. On the FAA power commercial pilots test a
Chandelle is defined as a maximum performance climbing turn through 180 degrees while
maintaining a constant turn rate. The idea is that this is a "plan ahead" maneuver. You first
establish a medium bank depending on the performance of your aircraft. Then a smooth pullup
is started. The angle of bank stays constant during the first 90 degrees of turn, while the pitch
angle increases steadily. At the 90 degree point the plane has the maximum pitch angle which
should be close to the critical angle of attack. During the second 90 degrees of turn, the pitch
angle is held constant, while the bank angle is smoothly decreased to reach 0 degrees of bank
at 180 degrees of turn with the airspeed close to the stall speed. The plane should not settle
during the last part of the maneuver and the recovery. The decreasing bank angle during the
second half of the Chandelle will maintain a constant turn rate together with the decreasing
airspeed. The turn needs to be kept coordinated by applying the right amount of rudder. A
Chandelle to the left is quite different than one to the right because of the ever increasing
amount of p-factor in the second half of the maneuver.

Lazy Eight Like the Chandelle, the Lazy Eight is not a competition maneuver but is required for
the power commercial pilot test. The aerobatics version of the Lazy Eight is two wingovers back
to back. The FAA commercial pilot version is similar but the maximum bank is only 45 degrees
instead of 90 degrees. The name Lazy Eight comes from the fact that the nose of the airplane is
following a figure 8 on its side on the horizon

Teaching the Chandelle --

The chandelle is one of the maneuvers in the single-engine commercial flight test. It is a
maximum performance 180climbing turn and was developed during World War I by
French pilots. They would fly to enemy ground troops and toss their bombs out of the
cockpit, and then perform the chandelle in an effort to avoid ground fire.

The maneuver is divided into two parts. During the first half of the maneuver, through
90 of heading change, the bank angle is held constant, and the pitch is slowly
increasing. During the second half of the turn, the pitch is held constant and the bank
angle is slowly rolled out. The graphic attempts to show the changes in the maneuver,
where the gradually darkening magenta represents the increasing pitch, and then held
constant during the second half, and the same for the changing bank angle, represented
in blue. It is steady throughout the first half and decreases throughout the second half of
the maneuver.
A road that is parallel to the wind serves as a good visual reference for teaching the
chandelle. Fly towards the road at normal speed. When you cross the road, quickly turn
into the wind, rolling to 30 of bank angle. Then simultaneously add full power and start
to pitch up. At the 90 point in the maneuver you will be parallel with the road. You
should still have 30 of bank angle and to have reached the maximum pitch attitude.
During the second half of the maneuver, hold the pitch attitude constant while slowly
rolling out bank angle. When you cross the road again, now in the opposite direction,
you should have rolled to wings level and be just above a stall. Complete the maneuver
by slowly lowering the pitch attitude to regain your airspeed. Lots of right rudder is
needed during the second half of the maneuver, and at the 180 point, all of those left
turning tendencies will be in full force.
In teaching the chandelle, I see two very common errors. The most common is uneven
roll out of bank angle. The tendency is to keep most of the bank angle in until you are
through about 170 of turn and then roll it out all at once. The second most common
error is not maintaining the pitch attitude. It takes increasing back pressure to maintain
it, and the tendency is to let it flatten out. How much pitch attitude is needed? That
varies from plane to plane, and you just have to experiment to find out how much is
needed to give you the desired airspeed at the completion of 180 of turn.
Because uneven bank angle roll out is such a common error, I teach the chandelle in two
parts. The first part is simply learning to manage the bank angle dont do any of the
pitch and power changes. Start on a cardinal heading and quickly roll into a 30 bank
angle. When you have completed 90 of heading change, start slowly and smoothly
rolling out the bank angle. As a guide, at 120 of heading change, you should have
about 20 of bank angle. At 150 of heading change the bank angle should be down to
about 10. Practice this until you can handle the roll-out smoothly. The last 10 of roll
out feel like you will never get the plane around to the desired heading, but it will
happen just very slowly. When you have the roll-out under control, you can now add
the pitch and power. Just be sure when you do the complete chandelle that you make the
quick roll to 30 of bank angle first, and then add power and start the pitch change.

Maximum Performance Maneuvers, Part II

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Dutch Rolls | Steep Turns | Steep Power Turns
Chandelles | Lazy Eights

Chandelles
diagram
The Chandelle is a MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE CLIMBING COURSE
REVERSAL. Named for the French aviator who first perfected the maneuver as a
combat tactic during the early days of World War 1, it is now REQUIRED FOR THE
COMMERCIAL PILOT AND FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR PRACTICAL TESTS in single
engine airplanes.
Initially, the Chandelle was a very abrupt maneuver. The nose of the airplane was
lowered to attain the maximum speed possible, then the wings were rolled to 60-80
degrees of bank. As the airplane began to turn, the pitch was raised to well above a
power-on stall attitude while full throttle was applied. As the turn progressed and the
airspeed bled off, the bank was rolled out and the pitch was lowered so that when the
airplane had turned 180 degrees, the wings were level and the airspeed was just above
the stall. Then the pilot would recover to level flight. The maneuver was used as both an
aggressive maneuver to position the airplane in back of, underneath and pointing up at a
higher flying enemy going in the opposite direction, and as a defensive maneuver to
shake an enemy off the pilot's tail.
Today's training maneuver Chandelle is used TO EXACT MAXIMUM
PERFORMANCE FROM THE PILOT, NOT THE AIRPLANE. By accomplishing the
same maneuver using gentle but firm control inputs rather than abrupt ones, and using
more moderate pitch and bank attitudes, the aerodynamic forces imposed are drawn out
over a longer period of time. This requires the pilot to develop their planning,
orientation, coordination, and feel for maximum performance flight, and their control
usage techniques while changing attitudes and airspeeds.
The maneuver may be broken down into THREE CONTROL FUNCTIONS: BANK,
PITCH, AND POWER. Looked at as separate functions, the Chandelle becomes quite
understandable.
BANK: The airplane is rolled firmly into a 30 degree bank turn. This bank is held
constant until reaching the 90-degree point of the maneuver. Then you roll out of the
bank smoothly and at a constant roll rate so as to reach wings-level flight just as you
reach the 180-degree point of the turn. This function can be practiced beforehand while
in level, cruise flight or while transitioning to slowflight.
PITCH: Once the bank is established, the pitch will be raised to an attitude which,
when full power is applied (climb power with a constant speedpropeller), will end up
giving you an airspeed of 1.2 Vs1 (1.2 times the power-off stall speed in the clean
configuration). This function can be practiced in conjunction with the power function
while in straight-ahead flight.
POWER: Once the bank is set and you have begun increasing the pitch, power will be
smoothly applied. In training airplanes equipped with a fixed-pitch prop, you will be
applying full throttle. As you first hear the rpm begin to lug down, add just enough
throttle to maintain the rpm at your entry setting. Of course, once full throttle is reached,

the rpm will lug down anyway, but you will not have over-revved the engine in the
process.
In a trainer with a constant speed prop, increase the rpm to the climb rpm setting as part
of your set-up for the maneuver. As you raise the pitch, increase your throttle setting
slowly and smoothly to the climb power manifold pressure.
SETTING UP FOR THE CHANDELLE:
The chandelle is accomplished in the clean configuration (flaps andgear retracted).
As with all flight training maneuvers, SAFETY IS OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE. You
must accomplish the Chandelle in such a way so as to remain at or above 1,500 feet
above ground at all times. A slight descent may be required to attain the recommended
entry speed in some aircraft, so you may need to start the maneuver a few hundred feet
higher. And due to the concentration level required, especially during the initial
practicing of this maneuver, THE AREA MUST BE THOROUGHLY CLEARED prior
to beginning the maneuver. Be sure to CLEAR THE AREA INTO WHICH YOU WILL
BE TURNING during the maneuver. If you are to accomplish a Chandelle to the right,
your clearing turn should be to the left.
As you are clearing, establish visual references for your 90- and 180-degree points.
When you are ready to start your Chandelle, your 90-degree reference point should be
directly off your wingtip in the direction you are going to turn.
Also as you are clearing, or immediately after completing your clearing turn, establish
your entry speed and power setting. The manufacturers of most trainers have
recommended entry speeds for the Chandelle. If the recommended entry speed is greater
than Va (maneuvering speed), or if no recommendation is made, use Va as your entry
speed. If your airplane has a constant speed propeller, advance the rpm to the climb rpm
setting.
EXECUTING THE CHANDELLE:
Once your set-up is completed, start the Chandelle with a firm, coordinated roll-in to a
30 degree bank turn. As you reach 30 degrees of bank, immediately begin increasing
back pressure to start the pitch up. Your pitch reference in the windshield (see VFR
Attitute Flying) should scribe a straight line from slightly nose down at the beginning to
your maximum pitch attitude at the 90-degree point.
With a fixed-pitch propeller, listen for a change in engine rpm as your nose begins to
rise. Holding your 30 degrees of bank as you turn, increase throttle progressivel and
smoothly, trying to maintain the initial rpm until full throttle has been applied.
With a constant speed propeller, smoothly apply climb power manifold pressure as you
hold your 30 degrees of bank.
As you reach the 90-degree point of the Chandelle, your pitch should be just reaching
it's high point and you should still have 30 degrees of bank.
As you pass the 90-degree point, you will begin to roll out the 30 degrees of bank as
you hold your pitch constant for the rest of the maneuver. The coordinated roll-out

should be made smoothly and continuously so as to reach a wings-level attitude just as

you reach the 180-degree point.
At the 180-degree point you should be wings level and your speed should be 1.2 Vs1
+5/-0 knots. Now your task is to recover to straight and level flight while maintaining
altitude within 50 feet and heading within 5 degrees.
THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:
AILERON/RUDDER COORDINATION plays a big part in the Chandelle. Once you
have applied power, you will need to contend with EVER-INCREASING TORQUE
AND P-FACTOR TRYING TO YAW THE AIRPLANE TO THE LEFT. This will
require you to offset the rudder to the right.
During a CHANDELLE TO THE LEFT, you will be ROLLING OUT OF THE LEFT
BANK BY APPLYING RIGHT AILERON. This, of course, WILL REQUIRE
ADDITIONAL RIGHT RUDDER TO COORDINATE. During a CHANDELLE TO
THE RIGHT, however, you will be ROLLING OUT BY APPLYING LEFT AILERON
pressure. You PROBABLY WON'T NEED TO APPLY ANY LEFT RUDDER
PRESSURE TO COORDINATE with the left aileron. All you'll need to do is RELAX
SOME OF THE RIGHT RUDDER you are holding to offset the engine torque and Pfactor.
WATCH YOUR PITCH. DON'T RAISE YOUR PITCH TOO QUICKLY. Many
students will tend to raise the nose so quickly they're at their maximum pitch attitude
before they've reached the 45-degree point in the Chandelle. You are only going to
RAISE THE PITCH A TOTAL OF ABOUT 15 DEGREES during the first 90 degrees of
turn. And during that phase, your airspeed is still relatively high, giving you a slower
rate of turn, so TAKE YOUR TIME. Also be aware that AS YOU ROLL OUT, THE
PITCH WILL TEND TO RISE even further. This is because of the reduction in bank
during the last 90 degrees of the maneuver. Just like in a level flight turn, as you roll out
of the bank you need to relax your back pressure a little.
DON'T TRIM FOR THE MANEUVER. Part of the objective of the Chandelle is to help
you DEVELOP A FEEL FOR THE CONTROL FORCES NEEDED when changing
bank, pitch, and airspeed.
LEVEL OFF SMOOTHLY when you have completed the maneuver. KEEP YOUR
HEAD OUTSIDE THE AIRPLANE to HOLD YOUR HEADING while you level off,
taking ONLY BRIEF GLANCES AT YOUR ALTIMETER to assure you are remaining
level.

1. Entry Point:
Set up at maneuvering speed or the manufacturer's recommended entry speed.
Reference out the left wingtip (or right wingtip for Chandelle to the right). Roll
firmly into and maintain a 30-degree banked turn. Initiate pitch up. Constant
Speed Prop: Add throttle as assigned.
1a. Fixed Pitch Prop RPM Drop:
Start to apply full throttle. Maintain rpm sound until full throttle is reached.
2. 90-degree Point:
Pitch just reaching maximum. Hold at this attitude. Bank still at 30 degrees, start
roll-out.
3. 180-degree Point:
Pitch still at maximum. Bank just reaching wings-level. Speed at minimum
controllable. Initiate level-off.
4. Completion:
Resume normal flight without loosing altitude.
back to top

Lazy Eights
diagram
The LAZY EIGHT is normally the last VFR maneuver introduced to you during your
commercial pilot training. There is good reason for this: the LAZY EIGHT requires that
the pilot plan and execute a complex maneuver involving pitch, bank, airspeed, altitude
and P-factor which are constantly in a state of change over an extended period of time.

Simply stated, the LAZY EIGHT is a series of opposing 180-degree turns combined
with climbs and descents. When looked at from the side, the airplane will scribe a path
resembling an 8 laying on it's side, hence the name "LAZY" EIGHT. Another very
important meaning of the word "LAZY" is SLOW. In order to gain maximum benefit
from this maneuver, it must be accomplished slowly and methodically.
SET-UP FOR THE LAZY EIGHT:
Before disecting the maneuver, contemplate the set-up. Reference points or lines are
needed for the start and completion headings and a prominent point chosen toward
which the nose will be pointed as it turns through the 90-degree point of each turn. The
airplane is stabilized in level flight at manuevering speed or the manufacturers
recommended entry speed. If level flight is impossible at the entry speed, a slight
descent is permissable. The power setting required for the set-up will not be changed
during the maneuver.
BANK
To begin with, each 180-degree portion of the LAZY EIGHT involves rolling
continuously into and then out of a 30-degree bank turn. Breaking the turn into 30
degree incriments, you will increase the bank 10 degrees during each of the first 3 30degree incriments, then decrease the bank 10 degrees during the remaining 3 30-degree
incriments. During the first incriment and the last incriment, your airspeed will be close
to entry speed, and the rate of turn at these very shallow banks will be extremely slow.
Lots of patience is required. During the second through fifth 30-degree incriments, your
airspeed will be slower and, combined with the slightly steeper bank, the turn is quicker.
PITCH:
Now we can cut each 180-degree turn into 4 45-degree segments and discuss pitch. The
nose will be raised ever so slowly while turning the first 45 degrees to reach its
maximum nose-up attitude just as the airplane turns through this heading. This pitch
attitude will vary between types of airplanes, but will generally be between 12 and 18
degrees nose-up. At this point, then, the attitude should look like a climbing 15-degree
bankturn.
As you pass through the 45-degree point of the turn, the pitch is smoothly brought back
downward so that it passes through the horizon just as the 90-degree point of the turn is
passed. A snapshot taken through the windshield at this point would look like a level 30degree bank turn.
Continuing to lower the pitch, the lowest point is reached at the 135-degree point of the
turn. Here the attitude is a nose low 15-degree banked turn, and you will start to raise
the pitch again.
Just as you reach the 180-degree point, completing the first turn, your pitch should pass
through the set-up attitude and start your turn in the opposite direction.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND SIDE EFFECTS:
Your altitude will vary throughout the maneuver. You will be climbing during the first
45 degrees of turn and into the next 45-degree increment as well. Since your airspeed is
slow due to the high pitch attitude, you will start descending just before reaching the 90degree point and flat pitch. Then you will continue to descend through the low-pitch

point at 135 degrees into the turn and until reaching your set-up attitude. At this point,
the altitude must be the same as it was when you entered the maneuver.
Your airspeed will decrease and increase pretty much in concert with with your altitude.
Your slowest speed should be about 1.2Vs1. Your speed at the completion of each turn
should be the same as your set-up airspeed.
P-factor will be constantly changing, requiring varying amounts of additional right
rudder pressure to coordinate the turn. During the right-hand turn, more right rudder
will be required between the 45- and 90-degree points of the turn and less left rudder
will be needed during that portion of the left-hand turn.

1. Entry Point:
At maneuvering speed or the manufacturer's recommended entry speed.
References for the 90- and 180-degree points set.
Initiate very slowly by starting bank and pitching up.
2. 45-degree Point:
15-degrees of bank. Continue rolling in.
Maximum pitch-up attitude. Begin decreasing.
3. 90-degree Point:
Just reaching 30-degrees of bank as pitch passes downward through the horizon.
Begin to shallow the bank.
Continue downward with pitch attitude.
4. 135-degree Point:
15-degrees of bank. Continue rolling out very slowly.
Maximum pitch-down attitude. Begin increasing.
5. 180-degree Point:
Bank just reaching wings-level.
Pitch just reaching entry attitude.
Altitude just reaching entry altitude.
Start with step 1 in the other directio