The world record loop is the record for the highest number of aircraft to successfully complete an aerobatic loop while flying in formation. The current record is 22 aircraft. The record was set by the Royal Air Force aerobatic team, the Black Arrows, who successfully looped 22 Hawker Hunter jet aircraft every day of the September 1958 Society of British Aerospace CompaniesFarnborough Airshow, beating the previous record set by the Pakistan Air Force, who looped the 16 North American F-86 Sabres in February 1958. The record required the team to train pilots from other RAF squadrons. The team initially wanted to loop 20 aircraft, but additional aircraft were added to the formation in order to improve the formation's aesthetic appearance.
PAF Falcons make a record loop with 16 F-86 Sabres (C. 1958)
British Recordedit
In September 1958 the Black Arrows[1][2] of No. 111 Squadron RAF were due to appear at the 1958 SBAC Air Show at Farnborough as the premier RAF Aerobatic team. Their Commanding Officer SqnLdr Roger L. Topp was about to hand over command of Treble-one squadron to SqnLdr Peter Latham and had requested permission from the [3] RAF hierarchy to attempt to break the current world record for the number of aircraft to complete a loop, held since February 1958 by the Pakistan Air Force who had successfully looped 16 North American F-86 Sabres.
Permission for the attempt was received[4] and a number of pilots and aircraft needed to complete the formation were seconded from other RAF fighter squadrons to practice for the show. Initially Topp intended to loop 20 aircraft in five lines of four aircraft. Having four aircraft in each line introduced difficulties for the pilots in the rear aircraft who became "thrust limited" over the peak of the loop and would lose position. Topp then decided to make the formation 7 lines of three aircraft. After this was trialled successfully, a fourth aircraft was added to the centre line to improve the aesthetics of the formation and the "22 Hunter Loop" formation was born.
Each day of the Farnborouh show, the Black Arrows would start their display with the enormous formation of 22 Hawker Hunter F6's completing two consecutive loops; A world record which has never been equalled. After the loops, six outer aircraft would break off from the formation and the Black Arrows would return for a 16 aircraft roll, another unprecedented feat which, though subsequently equalled by other teams, remains unsurpassed.
Pilots and planesedit
The pilots and aircraft who were involved in the record-breaking loop are listed below.
^. www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-04-04.
November 15, 2023
world, record, loop, world, record, loop, record, highest, number, aircraft, successfully, complete, aerobatic, loop, while, flying, formation, current, record, aircraft, record, royal, force, aerobatic, team, black, arrows, successfully, looped, hawker, hunte. The world record loop is the record for the highest number of aircraft to successfully complete an aerobatic loop while flying in formation The current record is 22 aircraft The record was set by the Royal Air Force aerobatic team the Black Arrows who successfully looped 22 Hawker Hunter jet aircraft every day of the September 1958 Society of British Aerospace Companies Farnborough Airshow beating the previous record set by the Pakistan Air Force who looped the 16 North American F 86 Sabres in February 1958 The record required the team to train pilots from other RAF squadrons The team initially wanted to loop 20 aircraft but additional aircraft were added to the formation in order to improve the formation s aesthetic appearance Contents 1 History 1 1 Pakistani Record 1 2 British Record 1 2 1 Pilots and planes 2 ReferencesHistory editPakistani Record edit nbsp PAF Falcons make a record loop with 16 F 86 Sabres C 1958 British Record edit In September 1958 the Black Arrows 1 2 of No 111 Squadron RAF were due to appear at the 1958 SBAC Air Show at Farnborough as the premier RAF Aerobatic team Their Commanding Officer SqnLdr Roger L Topp was about to hand over command of Treble one squadron to SqnLdr Peter Latham and had requested permission from the 3 RAF hierarchy to attempt to break the current world record for the number of aircraft to complete a loop held since February 1958 by the Pakistan Air Force who had successfully looped 16 North American F 86 Sabres Permission for the attempt was received 4 and a number of pilots and aircraft needed to complete the formation were seconded from other RAF fighter squadrons to practice for the show Initially Topp intended to loop 20 aircraft in five lines of four aircraft Having four aircraft in each line introduced difficulties for the pilots in the rear aircraft who became thrust limited over the peak of the loop and would lose position Topp then decided to make the formation 7 lines of three aircraft After this was trialled successfully a fourth aircraft was added to the centre line to improve the aesthetics of the formation and the 22 Hunter Loop formation was born Each day of the Farnborouh show the Black Arrows would start their display with the enormous formation of 22 Hawker Hunter F6 s completing two consecutive loops A world record which has never been equalled After the loops six outer aircraft would break off from the formation and the Black Arrows would return for a 16 aircraft roll another unprecedented feat which though subsequently equalled by other teams remains unsurpassed Pilots and planes edit The pilots and aircraft who were involved in the record breaking loop are listed below XG194 SqnLdr Roger Topp XG170 FltLt Oakie Oakford XG200 FlgOff Marcus Oscar Wild XF515 FltLt Alan Brindle XG201 FltLt Patrick Hine XG171 FltLt Brian Mercer XG592 FltLt George Ord XE563 FltLt Matthew Kemp XJ715 FlgOff Ron Smith XG189 FltLt Bob Smith XF416 FltLt Bob Barcilon XF424 FlgOff Roger Hymans XE616 FlgOff Peter Jennings XG190 FltLt Les Swart XE656 FlgOff Norman Lamb XE584 FltLt Will Scarlett XG193 FlgOff CJ Clayton Jones XJ687 FltLt Chas Boyer XG266 FltLt Frank Travers Smith XG160 FltLt Mike Thurley XF506 FlgOff Tony Aldridge XG191 FltLt David EdmondstonAirborne Spares FltLt Channing Biss FlgOff Barry VaughanExtra pilots FltLt Les Elgey FltLt Fred HartleyReferences edit History 111 Squadron Treble One www airsceneuk org uk Archived from the original on 2004 11 12 Archived copy Archived from the original on 2016 03 03 Retrieved 2013 04 02 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Black Arrow Blue Diamond Brian PW Mercer Publisher Pen amp Sword Books Nov 1 2006 Language English ISBN 1 84415 392 4 ISBN 978 1 84415 392 3 1 The Story of the Black Arrows www classicmachinefilms co uk Archived from the original on 2015 04 04 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title World record loop amp oldid 1128960436, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
