Chandelle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The chandelle is an aerial maneuver, used to turn as sharply as possible. It was perfected by French aviators during World War I, who described it as montrer en chandelle, "to climb around a candle." After attaining maximum practical speed at full throttle, the aircraft is rolled into a steep bank. As the turn begins, the nose is pitched up to well above a power-on stall. Before the stall takes effect, as the turn progresses and airspeed is lost, the wings are leveled and the nose dropped so that when the airplane has turned the desired amount, the aircraft is flying straight and level, just above stall speed. The maneuver is used as both aggressively to position the airplane for attack and defensively to elude an enemy.