Interesting thread.
I have often wondered about this one when flying jets/tugs/gliders. I see the major problem when you are flying 'faster' aircraft as being restricted as to the
rate of turn you can achieve in order to get pointing back towards the airfield. This automatically positions you some distance from the runway, and leaves you flying for some time at high rates of descent.
Problem: You want to reverse the direction of the a/c using the minimum distance, and in the shortest possible time.
Possible solution: If you were an aerobatically inclined pilot with vitals of steel, you might consider a cross between a stall turn and a chandelle, depending on height/speed available. If you 'unload' the wings during the manoevre, you can fly as slowly as you like. You could 'flop over the top' as long as you pointed towards the ground for a bit afterwards to get speed back for conventional flight. The turn rates for this trick would be much higher than using a normal 1.x Vs turn or whatever, and because you would not be asking the wings to generate vast quantities of lift for extended periods, probably quite efficient in overall energy terms. It would also leave you pointing almost directly down the runway.
Maybe one of our aerobatic aces could try this at altitude and report on the height losses etc.
