August 1955. 707 barrel rolls

[C24]

Well, on its first public outing over a lake near the production plant, watched by thousands, the Boeing test pilot performed two barrel rolls, one after another at low altitude.

Mr and Mrs Boeing had gathered many bosses of American airlines to watch not knowing that it would be anything other than two straight low banking passes in front of the crowd.

I wonder whether any 100 ARW crew had thought to try it when empty?

[stuie492]

Risk there careers... Yeah why not

[Agent K]

Well, on its first public outing over a lake near the production plant, watched by thousands, the Boeing test pilot performed two barrel rolls, one after another at low altitude.

Mr and Mrs Boeing had gathered many bosses of American airlines to watch not knowing that it would be anything other than two straight low banking passes in front of the crowd.

I wonder whether any 100 ARW crew had thought to try it when empty?

Sorry to be pedantic, but it wasn't a 707, it was the Boeing Dash 80, which led to the KC135. The 707 while visibly similar is a quite different aircraft with a wider fuselage diameter.

[IanM]

I believe the pilot was Tex Johnson and he was subsequently sacked.

Ian

[Agent K]

It was Tex but he didn't lose his job or face any disciplinary action at all for the "stunt"

[H.A.Bucken]

Dash 80 = B-717 according to THE book, "More than just a Tanker".
Roger

[Ghastly Whisper]

Risk there careers... Yeah why not

Not everyone is career orientated, some just get the job done.

Any pilot worth his or her wings will push their aircraft to the limit, sometimes beyond. I would be very surprised if Tex is the only one to have rolled a 707/135. 30,000 feet over ocean away from prying eyes, crew decision! wind her one way, then unwind her again

[paddyboy]

Hi Brian

There was Mr. Thicko here thinking that was all just a story

Thanks for putting me right

Paddy

[Sparts99]

John 'Jeff' Hawke did all sorts of things with the planes he flew, I was groundcrew on the CASA 352 he piloted for the 1984 season and can vouch first hand for his attempts at aerobatics in very unsuitable aircraft. He told me he'd rolled a 707, a great character but he was maybe too bold to be old.

[roughcutter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaA7kPfC5Hk

[Agent K]

Risk there careers... Yeah why not

Not everyone is career orientated, some just get the job done.

Any pilot worth his or her wings will push their aircraft to the limit, sometimes beyond. I would be very surprised if Tex is the only one to have rolled a 707/135. 30,000 feet over ocean away from prying eyes, crew decision! wind her one way, then unwind her again

Any pilot worth his or her wings will NOT push their aircraft to the limit, AND NEVER beyond.

[Nighthawke]

...otherwise they'll end up with a different set of wings!

[turmo]

Sorry to be pedantic, but it wasn't a 707, it was the Boeing Dash 80, which led to the KC135. The 707 while visibly similar is a quite different aircraft with a wider fuselage diameter.

And nor was it a barrel roll. A messy aileron-roll, perhaps. Even Tex wasn't sure how to describe it, which suggests that he really shouldn't have done it.

Some myths never die but we can keep fighting them.

I don't think any airliner has actually been barrel-rolled, since it involves vertical pitch through plus and minus 90 degrees. Imagine tracing the form of a cockscrew through the air.

[Agent K]

Sorry to be pedantic, but it wasn't a 707, it was the Boeing Dash 80, which led to the KC135. The 707 while visibly similar is a quite different aircraft with a wider fuselage diameter.

And nor was it a barrel roll. A messy aileron-roll, perhaps. Even Tex wasn't sure how to describe it, which suggests that he really shouldn't have done it.

Some myths never die but we can keep fighting them.

I don't think any airliner has actually been barrel-rolled, since it involves vertical pitch through plus and minus 90 degrees. Imagine tracing the form of a cockscrew through the air.

Well exactly, anybody here who flies, operates aircraft, is a graduate engineer in Aeronautical Engineering or similar understands the reality rather than the bravado.

[conelrad]

Any pilot worth his or her wings will push their aircraft to the limit, sometimes beyond. I would be very surprised if Tex is the only one to have rolled a 707/135. 30,000 feet over ocean away from prying eyes, crew decision! wind her one way, then unwind her again

[Ghastly Whisper]

Yes, and we all know that particular pilot should have been removed from flight status, way before that accident, not a good example, infact a very bad example. So challenge time, show me a fighter pilot, that has never taken their fighter to the limit. Other examples if needed are the Vulcan being rolled just a few years ago, and Concorde being rolled too, (Aircrew Interview on you tube, the ex concorde pilot, mentions that) although I'm sure theres no film. Trouble with living in this cotton wool world is that it was not always that way. Refer to my original post, when the boundaries were pushed.

[C24]

Jus for the record

· A barrel roll is a simple maneuver that is difficult to describe without visuals… ... It's called a Roll because when done properly, the airplane's track appears to Roll around the inside of a barrel or tube, not because the airplane is actually Rolling, as in an Aileron Roll.