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Old 15th Feb 2004, 05:43
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Bof
 
Join Date: Aug 1998
Location: West Sussex
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I seem to recall that the Zura cartwheel could only be done in the PV Meteor 8, with at least a dummy load of outboard stores (rockets, bombs, etc.). When I saw him perform, he used to take the old Meteor up vertically and start to do a stall turn. After the rudder went in and the aircraft started to turn he would chop the inside engine and keep the other at full chat. The weight and position of the outboard stores used to provide a couple which added to the rudder and asymmetric thrust and caused the old girl to carry on round another 360 dgrees in the stall turn.

We used to try and emulate it in the NF Meteor without a prayer of succeeding, but we were young and stupid and you really couldn't come to any harm. Just let go of everything and she just came out pointing down. I think that was the sequence he used. No doubt Flatus or one of the other oldies will put me right. What a guy Zura was, and what an aeroplane. Provided you didn't fly low and slow near the ground on asymmetric power you could do anything with it. Ahh well.
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