Ref Helen-Damnation: the reason that a half-cuban or cuban is actually a safer figure to fly than a simple loop is by virtue of the fact that you are not pulling through the vertical when heading towards the earth.
A regular half cuban involves flying a 5/8 positive loop onto a 45 degree downline with a half-roll to erect flight and a recovery to straight and level. This recovery only requires a 45 degree pitch change when heading towards terra firma, rather than the 90 degree pitch change when pulling through a loop.