Nap-of-the-earth

The contour flight is a flight maneuver of helicopters and military aircraft in which the pilot is flying close to the ground. This is to prevent the aircraft from enemy units or enemy radar is detected.

Helicopter fly this at a speed of about 80 knots ( = 150 km / h) at a height of 40 feet ( = 12 m) above the ground. Here the contours flight is also referred to as a compromise between normal flight and NOE (nap of the earth ), in which, with an even lower altitude the risk of being discovered is minimized, but only speeds of 50 knots ( = 90 km / h) are possible.

Modern guided missile like the Taurus cruise missiles are for contour flight at high subsonic able.

In military aircraft, one also speaks of a terrain following flight or terrain following flight in which an attempt is made to follow the contour of the terrain. This can be automatically controlled by hand or by using a terrain following radar.