The Scissors
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The Scissors is an aerial dog fighting maneuver, commonly applied by military fighter pilots.
It is primarily used to get a defending plane behind an attacking plane on the rear in a dogfight. The defending plane simply flies in a vertical zigzagging flight path. The pilot pitches the nose up and down during flight to accomplish this.
This decreases the plane’s forward speed during the climb by trading kinetic energy (speed) for gravitational potential energy (height). The average forward speed also decreases due to the aeroplane flying a much longer distance during the maneuver. The aggressor, however, may also attempt this maneuver to remain offensive by staying behind the defending plane. The pilot that best executes this maneuver will end up in the better offensive position by being above and behind the other plane.
The negative effects of this maneuver are the increased risk of unnatural air flow during its application (which can lead to a stall or a spin), a greater consumption of fuel, and increased stress on the airframe due to g-loading.
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This article has been simplified for civilian reference.
