Ladislav Bezak - Aerobatics from the Past

World Aerobatics Championships, as we know them nowadays, were held for the first time in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1960. The rules then differed significantly. The reasons behind the subsequent changes may become clearer if one looks at my sequences.

The 1960 sequence is the one I flew in Bratislava and with which I won the 1st World Championships. The Aresti aerocryptographic system had not been adopted yet, so for your convenience I have "translated" it into the Aresti language. However, it was impossible to interpret it integrally, mostly because Aresti does not provide for some of the features in the original sequence; for example, I flew 70 degree lines and two variations of the Lomcovak. These were soon after erroneously declared "uncontrollable manoeuvres", mainly by people reluctant to accept any progress in the aerobatics field introduced by pilots like me; yet, a few years earlier I demonstrated repeatedly the same manoeuvres to prove that they were indeed fully controlled. What is controllable or uncontrollable depends largely on the pilot.

In 1960, hardly anyone knew what a Lomcovak was, much less the differences between a main gyroscopic Lomcovak and a conic gyroscopic Lomcovak. In fact any Lomcovak is a gyroscopic manoeuvre. It should be noted that the word Lomcovak was assigned some time after I had flown several variations of these gyroscopic manoeuvres.

It was also in 1960 that I flew the first (intentional) demonstration of a flat spin in competition. Since the judges did not know how to recognize a flat spin from a normal one, following a few simple explanations, they drew on their sheets an elevator pointing down, noted full power during the rotation and specified that the demonstration had to be below 500 meters to be visible (I flew between 500 and 150 meters AGL).

Research on the Lomcovak variations was carried on order from the aviation authorities, to investigate the "g" load and its effect on different types of aircraft as well as to determine the aircraft angular velocity, which at that time seemed unbelievable. During this research, I lost a propeller precisely because it had not been possible to convince anyone of the very high angular velocity and gyroscopic moments involved. Following the loss of six propellers (in Czechoslovakia, England, Poland, Germany) I was finally able to convince some pilots to respect these simple, but wise, guidelines: start the manoeuvre 60 degrees above the horizon, indicated airspeed less than 100 kts at 25% power setting - use of opposite rudder before rolling (to increase the kinetic angular rotation speed) and then initiate an outside snap roll.

Now, take a look at the 1964 sequence. A slightly modified version of this sequence earned me 2nd place overall in Bilbao, Spain at the 3rd World Championships. The modifications, resulting in a lower K value, were made necessary to counteract the effects of high ambient temperatures and zero wind conditions. The late Neil Williams reproduced in his book (Aerobatics - p.187) the sequence as it was flown in Spain. Neil's comment "no restrion: cautious flying here" is absolutely true. Without a perfect knowledge of the "ballistic" type of aerobatic flying and playing with kinetic energy for wind compensation, the sequence was virtually impossible to fly with an aircraft of less than 200 h.p. weighing 1,000 Ibs. As far as I know, nobody was able to fly this sequence with a 160 h.p. aircraft at that time (while staying inside the box as well).

Incidentally, the chief designer at the Zlin factory was convinced I would destroy the aircraft if I attempted to fly this particular sequence with it; he also turned down my application for a test pilot position with the company. (Three years later I became a federal test pilot.) The historical reality is that only my aircraft, of all the Zlins flying national and international competitions, did not sustain structural damage or fatigue. The aircraft I was flying at the time (and of which I had the exclusive use) had a 168 h.p. engine, was equipped with a special wood propeller and weighed 519 kg.

It also featured numerous modifications revealed here for the first time: shorter wingspan, flat wing tips, no battery, starter, RPM indicator and several other instruments, no flaps, no carburettor heat, no floor and no brakes; it also featured a special tail wheel modification, rudder-elevator geometry change and a window on the bottom of the fuselage. The steering mechanism was visible at all times. The aircraft also had only one fuel tank and a small oil tank.

Now it must be understood that these modifications had to be made privately without authorization, since there is no such thing as an experimental category in Czechoslovakia. It was the only way to make the aircraft perform effectively at a lower speed, thus allowing a safe higher "g" load that did not cause structural fatigue. (for example, I was able to perform a roll or a snap roll way below the recommended climb speed.) In 1959, a conflict erupted with the designers. This resulted in the interdiction for me to use my flat wing tip modification for 4 years, only to have a wind tunnel test later confirm its validity. It was eventually used on Zlin aircraft 8 years later.

To conclude, I have a tip to offer those of you who might be interested: all the time I was actively involved in competition aerobatics, I practiced every sequence flown by other competitors. This was an excellent and valuable exercise.

If Lomcovsk became "headache" for the Americans, it is interesting to note that in France, Switzerland and a few other European countries, it was known for many years as "L'homme slovaque", and I am afraid my own sister is responsible for this one, but I must say I rather like it. In 1962, I performed at an airshow in Cannes france. Sometime later, people asked my sister, who was by then living in france, to tell them the name of this strange manoeuvre I had been executing. My sister, a nice and gentle lady, but who does not know anything about flying and who does not speak the Horavian dialect at all (lomcovak is a purely Horavian word) repeated what she thought she had heard and Voila!

As you can see this word was originally created and later interpreted in several ways by the public and this is something I do not mind in the least.