- - Red Arrows....John Haddock
(https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/615178-red-arrows-john-haddock.html)
exMudmover
21st Oct 2023 13:09
Originally Posted by pulse1
(Post 11525186)
According to Lee Jones, the first leader of the Red Arrows, they had to carry out an illegal adjustment to the control system in order to achieve the Twinkle roll.
Pulse1
The "illegal modification" to the controls just meant that the Red Arrows Gnats (as opposed to the ones at 4FTS Valley), had the aileron limit stops taken out. With the stops in the roll rate was about 250deg per sec; with them out it was about 400. A pretty snappy roll rate. Of course, you could enhance the roll rate of the 4FTS Gnats by using a bit of rudder with aileron, but - sensibly - this was strongly advised against in the aircrew manual because of the risk of roll divergence.
This was demonstrated graphically when a 4FTS Gnat instructor spread himself and his aircraft all over Gaydon airfield after initiating a "twinkle" roll with added rudder at high speed. The aircraft diverged, went flat plate and disintegrated.
