A Lomcovák is an aerobatic maneuver

Aerobatic maneuver

Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dog fights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others...

 that can be performed by an aeroplane. The word originates from the Slovak

Slovak

Slovak may refer to:* Related to, from, or belonging to the country of Slovakia* Slovaks, An ethnic sub-group of the Western Slavic people inhabiting the nation of Slovakia.* Slovak language...

 aerobatic pilot Ladislav Bezák's mechanic, who at a 1958 air show

Air show

An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....

 in Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

, Czechoslovakia jokingly called Bezák's tumble maneuvers "Lomcovaks" when asked by journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

s what they were.
According to Miroslav A. Liškutín, a Czechoslovak fighter pilot, veteran of the RAF (Personal No.: 787 424/158 235), this maneuver was flown by himself and other pilots on Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann/Aero C-4 biplanes at early post-WWII period air shows around Czechoslovakia and it was called "talířek" (small saucer) due to the horizontal rotary movement of the aircraft.

"Lomcovak" translated into English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, roughly means "cause of a headache

Headache

A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...

" or "hangover

Hangover

A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...

". The expression "Lomcovak" originated from the Moravia

Moravia

Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 region, famous for its Jelinek

Jelinek

Jelinek or is a surname of Czech origin that remains common in the Czech Republic.Notable persons with this surname include:* Bordan Jelínek, Czech poet...

 slivovitz

Slivovitz

Slivovitz or Slivovitsais a distilled beverage made from Damson plums. It is frequently called plum brandy, and in the Balkans is part of the category of drinks called rakia...

, a traditional Czechoslovakian alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

, and is commonly used to describe the rotating motions of one who has had one too many.

Description

The Lomcovak is a freestyle family of maneuvers performed at airshows or in four minute frees. It is not in the Aresti catalog

Aresti Catalog

The Aresti Catalog is the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale standards document enumerating the aerobatic manoeuvers permitted in aerobatic competition...

ue and therefore may not be flown in competition

Competition aerobatics

Competition aerobatics is an air sport in which judges rate the skill of pilots performing aerobatic flying. It is practiced in both piston-powered single-engine airplanes and gliders....

.

The maneuver consists of tumbling the airplane

Fixed-wing aircraft

A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...

 through the pitch

Flight dynamics

Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...

 axis (end to end) while it travels in a lateral direction (wingtip to wingtip).

Flying technique

Flying a Lomcovak (Lomcevak) will vary in technique from aeroplane to aeroplane and pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

 to pilot. This is probably the most common technique described for a clockwise

Clockwise

Circular motion can occur in two possible directions. A clockwise motion is one that proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top...

 rotating engine.

Pitch up to the 45

Degree (angle)

A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...

, simultaneously roll to the left with aileron

Aileron

Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...

 and kick in full left rudder

Rudder

A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...

, then shove the stick full forward. The aeroplane should do about two full rotations before running out of energy. Neutralise all controls and the aircraft will recover with the nose down. Fly out of it and correct accordingly. It may be necessary to reduce the power when recovering in certain instances.

This is generally the same technique used for a knife edge spin

Spin (flight)

In aviation, a spin is an aggravated stall resulting in autorotation about the spin axis wherein the aircraft follows a corkscrew downward path. Spins can be entered intentionally or unintentionally, from any flight attitude and from practically any airspeed—all that is required is sufficient yaw...

(up or down).