Studying the Masters: BPLR’s Mad Snap

Studying the Masters: BPLR’s Mad Snap from surfimp on Vimeo.

Benoit Paysant-Le Roux’s 1999 video featuring his Madslide aerobatics glider changed the world of slope soaring forever. The Madslide featured a full flying stabilizer capable of 180 degree rotation, allowing the plane to perform flips around its center of gravity both upright and inverted. He called this style of flying “Madflight”.

Thanks to Benoit, today many pilots around the world are enjoying these Madflight flips, but there are still some tricks in that seminal video which remain unseen from other pilots. One of them is this aileron roll to negative “mad” snaproll combination.

Using the PicaSim R/C soaring simulator I was able to study and replicate Benoit’s mad snap and present it here for your viewing enjoyment. I fly Mode II, meaning the flaps and rudder are on the left stick, and the ailerons and elevator are on the right stick.