Plain English Meaning

Flying that pushes an aircraft well beyond ordinary maneuvers — things like loops, rolls, and steep dives that put much heavier stress on the airframe. Aircraft built for this kind of flying are stronger and certified to handle those higher stresses.

Full Definition

In aviation, acrobatic refers to intentional flight maneuvers involving abrupt changes in an aircraft's attitude, abnormal attitudes, or abnormal accelerations not necessary for normal flight. Aircraft certificated in the Acrobatic category are designed to withstand higher load factors (typically +6.0 to -3.0 g) than Normal or Utility category aircraft.

Context Anchor

Seen in load factor discussions, aircraft category descriptions, and for what maneuvers an is to .