what are the maneuvering capabilities of commercial jetliners, can they roll like fighter jets?

Answer 1

I saw a video a few years ago that showed a Boeing 707 being successfully rolled in flight. So at least that maneuver is possible, although it wasn't as nimble and quick as a fighter jet.

Answer 2

Mostly for Jim S and eyeonthescreen: I have a bit over 4,000 on a commercial ticket (with ratings that include P-47, P-51, and a low-level aerobatics waiver) and I can tell you for a fact that the 707 story is true. It was '58 or '59 and Tex Johnson was the PIC. The aircraft was called the 'Dash-80' (it was later to become the 707). I'm also fairly certain that there are pictures (from the chase plane) and a video 'somewhere' out there on the web.

I've also seen a B-17 do a snap roll when somebody pulled it a bit too hard on a high-performance departure turn and, from the ground at least, it looked like one *helluva* good E-ticket ride.


Doug

Answer 3

Yes, a commercial jet can do a roll, but, no, I (a former Navy jet pilot) and the manufacturers (Boeing, Airbus, etc.) don't recommend it. Commercial jets are not certified for aerobatics (spin, loops, barrel rolls, Immelmans, etc.), but, done carefully and correctly, most, if not all of them could do a barrel roll.

The key to whether any aircraft can do an aerobatic maneuver is the g forces and non-linear stresses (e.g., angular forces) the aircraft is subjected to. Spins, for example, impart a lot of angular forces as the aircraft falls out of the sky while spinning. I would think most commercial aircraft would tend to fall apart with those kind of forces.

A vertical loop, on the other hand, is a 1 g maneuver all the way up and back down. And there should be no angular forces. So I would think most, if not all commercial jets, could do that.

The barrel roll, which is what I assume you mean, is also a 1 g maneuver.if done correctly, But it is easy to get disoriented when upside down and pointing to one side (which is where you are at during the top of the roll). In which case, it is easy to get angular forces by accident and commercial jets are not typically stressed for that kind of force.

Now having said all this, commercial jets are not as strongly built as military aircraft; so whatever commercial jets can do would have to be done more carefully and somewhat slower (not in airspeed so much, but in angular velocities) lest they come apart at the seams...which could ruin your day.

PS: Thanks, Doug. I heard about the 707, but didn't remember enough about it to cite. And, yes, at least an E ride.

Answer 4

There is a story that one of Boeing's top test pilots, when taking the 747 up for one of its initial flights, did a roll. He was fired a dozen times before he landed, but in the end retained his job.

The roll would have to be done properly, so as not to have a long period of time with negative g's, but that's pretty easy to do.

Added: But they can't roll like a fighter jet. Those guys can snap a roll in under a second. Not so the commercial jet. And since a commmercial jet doesn't have the thrust to weight ratio that a fighter does, anything involving steep climbs is out. As is heavy wing loading.

Answer 5

Large commercial jetliners cannot fly like jet fighter because they are not built strong enough and their stall steep is so much different. Don't know exactly what you mean by roll. They need lots of air crossing the wing at the correct angle or they drop like a rock.

Answer 6

Commercial airliners have a greater wing surface area than figher jets do. An enormous amount of strain would be put on the wings if any sort of roll (or even sharp turn) were attempted in an airliner. Granted, airliners are engineered so that they can withstand high winds and turbulance, I have no doubt that the wings would be sheared off if any "fighter jet" type of maneuver was quickly performed.

Answer 7

Barrel roles are certainly possible.
There are limits on the positive and negative G forces that an aircraft can tolerate before it comes apart so things have to go a bit slower with aircraft not intended for aerobatics.
I know that the 707 story is true. A 737 has also been barrel rolled and during the early test flights Concorde was also barrel rolled.