Overhead breaks apparently aren't just a fighter thing

Fearless Tower

Fearless Tower

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Fearless Tower
Coming back to work for lunch I watched a C-17 of all things do an OB at Chambers Field (NGU). Sorry, no photos as I was driving, but when you are used to watching E-2s fly the pattern all day, the C-17 was a quite impressive sight!
 
Fearless Tower said:
Coming back to work for lunch I watched a C-17 of all things do an OB at Chambers Field (NGU)
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I once watched a couple of P-3's do a section break. Fun to watch, but it took a while :rofl:

Nauga,
who knows it's a convection oven, dammit!
 
Yeah if I remember right, they would do that at Oceana, or at least weird section approaches. I remember seeing the C-9 come into the overhead when I was a kid. That was an aggressive maneuver for them I'd imagine.
 
When the MEU showed up to Kosovo when I was there, the CH-53s and AH-1s would do breaks. Cool to watch a big 53 rake it into a break. You can hear those big blades slapping the air in an aggressive turn. Still, I thought it was a bit funny watching a helo do a manuever that doesn't have much use for their purposes.
 
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Never seen a helo fly an airplane pattern, but I did watch a line of 4 C130s make a low level parachute drop on the airport, circle around wide, down the runway at ~400' agl and make sequential overhead brakes. The only part that worried me was when they taxied past where I had parked to eat lunch and wasn't tied down. Turned out that wasn't a problem either.
 
I worked at Miramar and found that all formation flights terminate with the break.
 
Overhead breaks are SOP for the RV crowd. When you're indicating eye watering speeds up to 140 in formation, there just isn't any other way to land.:)
 
Alexb2000 said:
Overhead breaks are SOP for the RV crowd. When you're indicating eye watering speeds up to 140 in formation, there just isn't any other way to land.:)
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I built a RV7 and flew it for 5 years and I have several hundred hours in that and several other RVs and never did an overhead break. Did a lot of overhead breaks when flying the SNJ in 2,3 and 4 ship formations. I flew in a 4 ship formation of J3's once and we did a high speed low pass with a break. Now that one did take awhile. Don
 
Hank S said:
Never seen a helo fly an airplane pattern, but I did watch a line of 4 C130s make a low level parachute drop on the airport, circle around wide, down the runway at ~400' agl and make sequential overhead brakes. The only part that worried me was when they taxied past where I had parked to eat lunch and wasn't tied down. Turned out that wasn't a problem either.
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In Okinawa it was common for our Cobras to come back to the airfield and do the overhead. Not sure I'd classify it as an "operational need" but they chose to do it.

It also has some tactical significance for helos, commonly referred to "tac break." Could be a hot LZ that only supports one aircraft. You come in at cruise speed and break in specified intervals. The manuever minimizes time around the LZ. Not really something an R22 needs to practice on around the patch though.:D
 
Introduced to Overhead break by F18 CFI. Actually AIM calls is Overhead Maneuver. Seems useful for some situations.
 
yakdriver said:
I built a RV7 and flew it for 5 years and I have several hundred hours in that and several other RVs and never did an overhead break. Did a lot of overhead breaks when flying the SNJ in 2,3 and 4 ship formations. I flew in a 4 ship formation of J3's once and we did a high speed low pass with a break. Now that one did take awhile. Don
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I'm surprised the RV crowd didn't confiscate your RV7 for not doing breaks, after all that's like the main point of owning a RV right :rofl:
 
I don't get it. What does it buy you in a GA airplane? I can see it for military planes at military airfields, but at a GA airport if you call the overhead break half of the pilots are going to have no idea where to look for you.

It just seems to add risk with no reward in the GA world. But hey, style over substance, right?
 
bullwinkle said:
I don't get it. What does it buy you in a GA airplane? I can see it for military planes at military airfields, but at a GA airport if you call the overhead break half of the pilots are going to have no idea where to look for you.

It just seems to add risk with no reward in the GA world. But hey, style over substance, right?
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I bet you don't wear a nomex suit when you fly either.:)
 
James331 said:
I'm surprised the RV crowd didn't confiscate your RV7 for not doing breaks, after all that's like the main point of owning a RV right :rofl:
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You know there are morons out there that fly all types of airplanes. I have had more problems with pilots flying non standard patterns, straight in without talking on the radio and generally not aware of the traffic in the pattern. Believe it or not most of the RV crowd are pretty competent pilots and fly normally. As in most things there is that 5-10% that give everybody else a bad name. Don
 
yakdriver said:
You know there are morons out there that fly all types of airplanes. I have had more problems with pilots flying non standard patterns, straight in without talking on the radio and generally not aware of the traffic in the pattern. Believe it or not most of the RV crowd are pretty competent pilots and fly normally. As in most things there is that 5-10% that give everybody else a bad name. Don
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Just giving ya **** Don, but I do see RVs doing more breaks than anything else, I see nothing wrong with it as long as it's done with common sense.
 
Do one everytime I go into a fighter base to pick up fighters. If anything, they get a good laugh out it.
 
At one time and its still the case the preferred method of recovery at an Military Airfield was an Overhead break per within the regulation I remember it being there in the FM for the Army in the 80's. It really is still the fastest way to recover a multiple flight of Aircraft...
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
Oh....you fly RVs too? :rofl:
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Only in my dreams!

bullwinkle said:
What does it buy you in a GA airplane?
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1. Easy way to break up a formation flight without having to do all the maneuvering of a normal traffic pattern and get separation from the other formation member.

2. Able to keep your speed up and then lose it in an energy depleting turn

3. Cool points
 
bullwinkle said:
I don't get it. What does it buy you in a GA airplane? I can see it for military planes at military airfields, but at a GA airport if you call the overhead break half of the pilots are going to have no idea where to look for you.

It just seems to add risk with no reward in the GA world. But hey, style over substance, right?
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Some people fly for fun? Everytime I fly a glider, I do an overhead. It keeps the pattern tight and quick. If you fly a glider without a radio it lets anyone else on the ground know you're landing.

One day it was quiet in the morning at my local airport. I was in the C150 with a CFI who was a retired AF pilot, and he asked if Id done one. I said Id done them dozens of times and so we did one just for fun. I broke at just past the thousand foot markers but it was still fun.

OP I used to watch an EW plane, straight white, 4 engines probably a 707 that seemed to always be flown by fighter jocks who got moved over to it and they would always do overheads and fly f-16 patterns. Was funner than hell to watch.
 
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You should see C-5s doing combat landings...

And overhead breaks are just fun. When I was down with the Alamo Liaison Squadron in San Antonio we would break to land out of formation and it is fun and efficient.
 
Why do guys flying RV's do overhead breaks? Because they can. :D
 
35 AoA said:
Yeah if I remember right, they would do that at Oceana, or at least weird section approaches. I remember seeing the C-9 come into the overhead when I was a kid. That was an aggressive maneuver for them I'd imagine.
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I think it would be fun to do once in a DC9, until I do it, then realize how much more work it really is.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Since you're a heavy guy, why would a single ship Globemaster do an OB? Or was I witnessing something more like a circling maneuver?
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Just for fun. Those C-17 guys have a stick instead of a yoke and like to think they fighters and cropdusters.:lol:
 
Anthony said:
Why do guys flying RV's do overhead breaks? Because they can. :D
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I'm usually too busy looking at my cool panel to be bothered about pattern entries. :rolleyes:

Kidding, the last OH break I did was in a formation clinic I went to last year. :redface:

I must not be living g up to the RV reputation. :dunno:
 
I saw a C-17 do a different kind of break one time. He was on a final for 16 at FTW. At about 2nm, he banks hard right, then goes and lands at the joint reserve base about 5nm to the west. At least he didn't actually land, like the one in Tampa.
 
kyleb said:
You're letting the whole RV community down with your actions. ;-)

<Sez the RV guy who's never done an overhead break.>
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Y'all are killing the dumb stereotype that jealous spam canners love to keep peddling. Boring. :D
 
Had a couple of my old airplanes come over the house as I got home. Standard formation, wings forward headed for the pattern at Nellis AFB. Watched as the maneuvered for "initial". Lost sight of them as I'm 10 miles west of the base.

B-1B, flight of two. Red Flag is in town this week.
You want fun. Fly the pattern in a B-1, same ground track as an F-4.
 
35, you are a beast! I've pulled over 9 before but I've never met someone that pulled 500 G's!


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