Experts say that performing a 360-degree roll in mid-air with a large commercial passenger aircraft requires exceptional piloting skills.
Pilots have historically executed rolls with smaller aircraft. A roll is a maneuver where an aircraft rotates 360 degrees in mid-air. Executing a roll is not an easy task, even with display or fighter aircraft, and requires a high level of skill. But can a roll be performed with larger vehicles like commercial passenger planes? Richard P. Anderson, a pilot, aerospace engineering professor, and director of the Eagle Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle University in Florida, states that it’s entirely possible, according to Live Science.
In theory, experienced pilots can perform rolls with commercial passenger planes. (Photo: Denys Bilytskyi)
Perhaps the most famous pilot to perform a roll with a commercial aircraft is Alvin Melvin “Tex” Johnston, a test pilot for Boeing. In the summer of 1955, Johnston flew a Boeing 367-80 four-engine aircraft (also known as the Dash 80) in a roll. Aiming to impress Boeing executives watching from a yacht on Lake Washington near Seattle, the pilot executed two rolls along with a 180-degree turn and a climb, according to the Los Angeles Times. That day, Johnston’s boss called him into the office and asked what he had done. Johnston replied, “I sold airplanes.”
How did Johnston successfully perform a roll with such a large aircraft? According to Anderson, the size of the aircraft is less important than the pilot’s ability to manage the G-forces acting on the aircraft during the roll. “The physical effects are the same regardless of the size of the aircraft,” Anderson explains. “In a roll, pilots aim to maintain G-forces on the aircraft near 1 G. In other words, close to what we feel on the ground.”
To complete the roll, the pilot must simultaneously pitch the nose of the aircraft up and then down while flying at a cruising speed of approximately 885 to 965 km/h. Anderson states that the only real limitation when performing a roll is how quickly the aircraft can rotate. “In a roll, what you do is pitch the nose of the aircraft up, roll over, and let the nose drop down. As long as the rate of rotation is reasonable, physically, any size aircraft can perform it,” Anderson says.
David Haglund, a veteran pilot in the U.S. Air Force and a professor at the Museum of Flight near Seattle, shares that airspace is also crucial for completing a roll, especially in the case of large aircraft compared to smaller ones like a Cessna. “Before performing this maneuver, pilots need to consider the available airspace. For a passenger aircraft, a roll requires no obstacles within 600 meters above and 12,000 meters below,” Haglund says. While it may be physically possible, some manufacturers have imposed restrictions on modern large aircraft to prevent any pilot from performing similar maneuvers, especially with passengers onboard.
