The Cuban Eight is basically a horizontal figure eight with a couple of half rolls thrown in for good measure. The plane performs 5/8 of a loop and holds an inverted 45 degree dive un till the plane reaches half the desired height of the maneuver. At this point a half roll is performed holding the same 45 degree dive. The plane pulls up to level flight at the same altitude it began the maneuver and immediately begins another5/8 loop Hold the inverted 45 degree dive un till the plane again drops to half desired height of the maneuver. At this point, again perform a half roll and pull up to level flight at the same point you entered the maneuver. Remember to perform nice round loops and the rolls should come at half the height of the maneuver. Proper throttle management is the insider trick to performing a perfect Cuban Eight.

This maneuver is simply an inside loop followed by an outside loop. Try to get the intersection dead center in frame. It's the outside loop that must be approached with caution. As mentioned before, inverted flight should be familiar before tackling low inverted pull outs. The horizontal Cuban eight is a much simpler form. Inside loop is made in the usual fashion, however, treat the second half as you would a split 'S' turn. In other words, during climb into second loop, roll to inverted so it too is an inside loop. Two split 'S" turns one Cuban eight. Naturally the pilot should seek roundness and continuity paying special attention not to choke it up too small. Use lots of air.

This maneuver provides a quick turn-around at the vertical limitations of your 'frame' without going beyond, and to redirect your plane 180 degrees. The Humpty-bump allows a vertical dive to achieve this speed prior to changing for next maneuver. It is a linking maneuver rather than a feature. From a fast flat upright fly past, pull up briskly to a vertical climb. At the desired height and before too much speed is lost make one-half (180 degree) vertical roll. The reason I emphasize 'before' is that the average model lacks the juice to pull a sustained vertical climb. If your model slows down too much your plane will fall out of the pattern. One-half vertical roll and still going up. Before stall occurs apply down elevator which should kick tail over cleanly to aim the plane straight down. This loft over the top should be quick yet not snapped. The ensuing dive should be pulled out clean and level, at desired height. Proceed to center stage ready for next maneuver.

Start out with good speed to carry it off cleanly. Heading into the wind. Pull up into the front half of a loop being careful not to loose too much speed. If you have kept your speed up your plane will reach 12 o'clock and still have a plenty of speed. The common mistake is to lose too much airspeed because of abrupt pull up. The plane is now inverted at the top of the loop. Hit enough down elevator to level off inverted. Allow inverted level flight to continue until airspeed is regained, then aileron roll back to upright. Full throttle is maintained throughout this maneuver. Here only practice makes perfect.

Enter the staging area from left or right (heading into wind). Judge your own height. I like to enter at about 40 feet off the deck and 150 feet distant with full throttle. At this point you have an aerodynamic mass in trimmed powered flight carrying the inertia of its mass / speed. Without getting too technical it is power and inertia that will carry you through the loop. Your old enemy drag is acting on this mass. The instant you 'dirty' up the plane (change direction) it will suffer additional parasitic drag which is in direct proportion to the degree you 'dirty' it. The clue here is to make your pull up gentle and the resultant arc will be large. The common mistake is to yank in full elevator and make a loop much too small with pull out higher than entry. Visually the speed should not vary throughout the loop. This Is where the finesse comes in, climb to the top of the loop making tiny aileron corrections to keep wings level. As the plane passes the high point inverted, neutralize elevator going to a slight amount of down elevator (if required) to sustain a smooth unchanging arc while reducing throttle to about one quarter. A sharp closing to Idle at this time may create a pitch change causing the nose to tuck too quickly. Pull through the back side of loop maintaining constant arc and visual speed. Pull out at point of entry.

From a fast high pass into the wind, tip nose up about 10 degrees and make a half roll with ailerons. Immediately lay in full top rudder. In most cases, nose will pitch down. Rarely, plane will climb. With a well trimmed pattern ship, it will sustain this attitude with very little further correction. In most cases, with the trainer types, the plane will seek to right itself and additional corrections will not usually help.

From a fast high approach to center stage model is pulled into a 20 degree climb at which time you roll to a right hand knife edge. Momentarily stabilize in this attitude. Once stabilized feed in outside left snap roll stick positions. Right and left sticks at 10 o'clock (Mode 2). As the snap Is in progress cut throttle back to idle while maintaining full left rudder. What follows here Is dependant upon whether the plane has slowed sufficiently enough to stall all flying surfaces. If It has, a random end over end 1 1/2 tumbles should follow. It is interesting to now that if this input is sustained plane will assume an inverted spin. The neutralizing of all controls will stop the tumble/spin and recovery will be possible.

Cut speed down to a comfortable 'cruise'. Tip nose up slightly, similar to entry in aileron roll. Immediately thereafter pull right stick (mode 2) to four o'clock in gimbal and. without disturbing engine speed, slap in full right rudder. This gives input of aileron, elevator and rudder. Again if C.G. is rearward a nice right hand snap should result. (Reverse input for left hand snap.) This maneuver will 'scrub off' airspeed as quick as any stunt and full power must be applied to restore strong flight. A variation of this is the 'outside snap' which is usually entered in the inverted position. All the foregoing applies except that right stick goes to two o'clock. Incidentally if input is sustained a nice inverted flat spin should result. Leave yourself lots of room to pull out.

Start from level to a pull up of about 45 degrees at which time sharp aileron input is used to roll the plane on its back. While still climbing take a moment to level the wings inverted, and when so, pull in up elevator to complete what is the back side of an inside loop. Pull out at level of entry. A variation of this is to roll your model inverted, at a safe height, and pull through back side of an inside loop. In all cases direction is changed 180 degrees very effectively.

Reduce throttle to allow plane to come to a predetermined stall. Don't cut the power down too much as you require some 'helicopter' effect from the prop to prevent the nose dropping over too soon. You slowly ease back throttle until plane falls tail first back through its own path. You cannot make any corrections at this point as not enough airspeed is available. The best advise for a good 'slide' is a dead vertical entry with no residue of directional momentum. If all goes well a 'slide' of 10 to 12 feet will result with nose snapping forward in the direction of entry.

Here again ballsy power is a distinct benefit due to the abrupt 90 degree pull up at the entry, followed by a tall vertical climb. Here we are looking for an unwavering, brisk climb to the 'crown', where a quick push of down will press model over the top into horizontal flight across the 'crown'. Try to proportion the hat at twice as high as wide. When the edge of the crown is reached another push of down should start the model straight down. Reduce throttle to slow descent. Pull out sharply at the 'brim' and fly level out of the maneuver. A "Humpty-bump' turn around looks good as a finisher for this stunt, and holds the plane within your 'frame".

From a nice low entry with your ship really cranked on, pull up into a full inside loop, continue for another half loop which should put you at the top of the first loop inverted. At this point the plane has 'spent' most of its' momentum and a lot of speed. Neutralize for a split second and allow plane to accelerate inverted. This will give you the added airspeed to tackle the second half of the stunt. Apply down, (forward stick) elevator gently to push up and over in an outside loop. Try to get your pull out at the point of entry. Throttle should be reduced to about half at the intersection. Simply complete the back half of the bottom inside loop and pull out at point of entry. Advance throttle and move off. This stunt will often wipe out just at the point of entry Into the top (outside) loop. This is caused by lack of airspeed. The down elevator applied too soon at this time will usually give you a surprise outside snap roll. This Is why a short build up of speed is recommended while inverted prior to entry Into top outside loop.