Anyone who has attended an air show has witnessed the daring feats done by pilots. However, one stunt that stands out as the most favourite is the barrel roll, in which an aeroplane does a complete 360-degree rotation while airborne. It should come as no surprise that completing this stunt is a difficult task- even in a small stunt plane or fighter jet- and it takes a skilled pilot to execute it. But is it possible to do a barrel roll on something larger like a commercial airliner?
According to the report, pilot and aerospace engineer Richard P Anderson said that barrel rolling is a matter of practice. Even small stunt planes and combat warplanes are incapable of doing barrel rolls without proper experience and practice.
To do this, a skilled pilot will be required. Anderson said, “I know some pilots who could barrel-roll even heavy commercial flights. The most famous pilot to do this on a commercial flight was Alvin Melvin Tex Johnston. Boeing’s trainee pilot, Johnson, made a 360-degree turn in the flight in the summer of 1955.”
Reports also suggest that he did two barrel rolls to impress Boeing officials watching from a boat on Lake Washington near Seattle. He also did a Chandelle cast. This is a stunt when the pilot flips the plane 180 degrees and rises. Then Johnson was called to his office by his boss, who asked what he was doing. Then Johnson replied that he was sailing aeroplanes. His answer was widely discussed at the time.
Anderson said that the size of the plane does not matter as much as the pilot’s ability to control the force of gravity applied to the plane during the roll. If he can control the force of gravity, he can do everything.
The front part of the aircraft has to be lifted and rolled, and then it has to be allowed to fall downward. At that moment, the speed should have been between 885 and 965 kilometres per hour. However, as long as the aeroplane has a reasonable roll rate, physics says that any size aeroplane can do it. On the other hand, US Air Force pilot David Haglund said that the most essential thing is to observe the conditions.
To do a barrel roll, the plane has to be at a height of at least 2,000 feet. The altitude should not exceed 4,000 feet. If there are people on the plane, doing this can be dangerous. The amount of oxygen during that time may be low. Turbulence can also lead to death. Despite this, the majority of today’s pilots are trained to turn 60 degrees.
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