Supermanoeuvrability – Secret of Highly Tactical Manoeuvres

Have ever been to any air-show conducted by Air force, you would have noticed fighter jets performing various manoeuvres. Those manoeuvres might be totally different from those capable by normal airliners. 

Video Credits: Airguardian

A fighter jet may completely role and perform few difficult manoeuvres such as cobra manoeuvre. So why aren’t normal airplane capable of such manoeuvres? How are such manoeuvres performed?

Normal airplane are totally dependant on aerodynamic mechanisms for manoeuvring the airplane. i.e. They only use control surfaces which deflect the air flowing above them at required angle. They use control surfaces such as rudder, aileron, elevators, flaps and air brakes.

Sometimes the airplane may use a combination of these control surfaces simultaneously, Combinations such as “Ruddervator”. You can see that they totally depend on the aerodynamic effect.

Fighter jets use a concept called “Supermanoeuvrability” which enable the jets to perform manoeuvres almost beyond 90 degrees which isn’t possible by normal airplane since they stall typically beyond 15 degree AOA (Angle of Attack). So don’t fighter jets stall? 

Yes they do stall but its kind of a controlled stall. How is supermanoeuvrability possible? supermanoeuvrable aircraft have following characteristics supermanoeuvrable aircraft have high thrust to weight ratio

These aircraft are highly manoeuvrable. Fighter jets use unique control surfaces such as canard surfaces (Small fins attached in the front)

Fighter jets also use thrust vectoring for assisting such manoeuvres. They have better post stall characteristics.