Heaviest aircraft to perform an aerobatic loop

Heaviest aircraft to perform an aerobatic loop
Who
Lockheed LM-100J, Wayne Roberts, Steve Knoblock
What
36,740 kilogram(s)
Where
United Kingdom (Farnborough)
When
18 July 2018

The heaviest aircraft to perform an aerobatic loop is the Lockheed-Martin LM-100J, which has an operating empty weight of 36,740 kilograms (81,000 pounds). The aircraft, flown by Lockheed test pilot Wayne Roberts and his co-pilot Steve Knoblock (both USA), performed a loop as part of its demonstration flight at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, Hampshire, UK, on 18 July 2018.

Technically speaking, the manoeuvre performed by Roberts was an "inclined loop" or corkscrew, rather than what would be called a true "inside loop" in a scored aerobatic competition. The difference comes from the pitch of the loop: Roberts entered the climb at a slight angle (no more than 20 degrees) and banked slightly as he pulled out of it. This was done for safety reasons, rather than because of a limitation of the airframe. Roberts was performing close to the crowd and needed to have safe abort paths for every possible contingency.

The Farnborough display was Roberts' last major air show appearance before retirement. He has been flying the C-130J Super Hercules (the LM-100J is the civilian variant) since 1998 and similar turboprop aircraft for more than 40 years. He practised this performance more than 120 times in the simulator before attempting it in the real aircraft.

There are several larger aircraft that might, in theory at least, be able to perform a loop – albeit with a great deal of stress on the airframe. There is no evidence, however, that a full loop, or even something close to it, has ever actually been performed with a larger aircraft than the LM-100J.