Roll a C-172?

[No Delay]

Has anyone ever rolled a cessna 172?

I have done plenty of spins in my 172 and have always wanted to roll it. Just wondering if anyone has ever experienced this?

 

[Kingairrick]

Better question, is anyone dumb enough to admit it?

 

[rumpletumbler]

Better question, is anyone dumb enough to admit it?

hahaha.....no warning flags please!

 

[acaTerry]

Why would anyone want to try? The roll rate is so slow you'd lose LOTS of altitude.

 

[Singlecoil]

Does a 207 count?

 

[uavchaser]

if a 207 counts then i guess a 206 might too then

 

[EatSleepFly]

Has anyone ever rolled a cessna 172?

I have done plenty of spins in my 172 and have always wanted to roll it. Just wondering if anyone has ever experienced this?

I hear a PA28R rolls nicely.

 

[PA-44Typed]

I....... I mean I "heard of someone who rolled an old 182"

 

[Texan Driver]

Why would anyone want to try? The roll rate is so slow you'd lose LOTS of altitude.

No you wouldn't. Pretty much anything can be rolled safely...legally, that is another story.

 

[scuzzer23]

What about a 152? Those seem like they would roll very easily. Anyone?

 

[DenverDude2002]

some 152's have aerobatic cert so I dont see why not......

 

[leardrivr]

I have rolled every aircraft I have flown except for the convair 580. Of cource I will deniy that on record. The single engine cessna rolls good just be sure not to split S out of the first attempt. It's a little scary at 3000 feet. Not that I would know anything about that. Have fun and be safe!

 

[VFR on Top]

I've never had sufficient confidence in the airframe to try one, but a friend of mine looped a non-aerobat 152 a number of times, including once with me aboard that fell apart at the apex, forcing him into an Immelmann instead.

I'd never try a true aileron roll in any aircraft with a gravity-fed fuel system, but I'd imagine that most aircraft can be safely barrel-rolled, provided a positive g-load is maintained throughout.

 

[Bluto]

Not to be a stickler, but a true aileron roll is one of the few aerobatic maneuvers you can do that should cause absolutely no problems with gravity-fed fuel systems. It is possible to perform an aileron roll at nearly 1G throughout. Ironically, you're more likely to have fuel problems with a single-engine Cessna during a spin (for which they are certified) than you would during an aileron roll, if done properly. Although I would never condone performing illegal aerobatic maneuvers, of course...(please excuse the requisite legal disclaimer.)

 

[satpak77]

what happens to EFIS when a plane is rolled?

not the sim, the real plane

 

[No Delay]

Vaseline just brought up a good point...I don't have an EFIS, but how would this affect the gyros? (Attitude Ind in particular)

 

[Big Duke Six]

Not sure about the EFIS birds, but it is (I hear) true that you can safely do 1G snaps in a 152 if you know what you're doing. It's really no big thing, I hear.

 

[freighthumper]

Why would anyone waiit want to try? The roll rate is so slow you'd lose LOTS of altitude.

Why WOULDNT you want to try? What kind of real pilot actually get his kicks by doing steep turns and lazy 8s all day...The roll rate is just fine It would only loose altitude if you did it wrong....it would roll as easily as anything you would traditionally think about rolling assuming you did it right. If you are considering doing just make sure you commit to it and dont chicken out half way and do an unplanned sloppy split S, thats where you would most likely get into trouble.....officially I guess I should say dont do it unless you have someone with you that has done it before though...and to do it in an airplane "designed for acro".

 

[LJDRVR]

Look, I'm the first person to admit that I've done some stupid things in airplanes, but why on earth would you want to A: Perform illegal aerobatics, B: (And here's the big one...) Perform a maneuver for which you have not been trained.

I've rolled 150 Aerobats, and you're not missing anything. The roll rate sucks, and you've got to pick up quite a bit of smash for the entry. If Aerobatics intrigue you, then go find a qualified instructor, with a properly certified and equiped airplane.

Bill Kirschner in Sewanee TN has a great program. If that's not near you, find somebody with a Citabria or Decathalon. If you realy want to learn it right and have the most fun possible though, you should try to find an 85-horse clipped-wing Cub.

Good luck, don't give in to the temptation to try. You're almost guaranteed to split-S out and overspeed the engine, and or airplane. Not to mention exceeding the load factor or hitting the ground. Go to the NTSB website and type in "split-S, 360 degree roll, or aileron roll". Enjoy the read.

 

[Corona]

LJDRVR has good advice: go with someone experienced first. I believe a 172 can do limited aerobatics if the CG is in the "Utility" category. Non of the 200 series Cessnas are approved for any aerobatics.

If you roll a 172 or 152 that does not have cageable gyros, you will likely trash the gyro; several hundred dollars to replace. Don't know about EFIS.

You can probably roll any aircraft out there; even the Marines rolled a CH-53 heavy helo once. I personally know of two pilots who rolled a heavy business jet. With pax.

I'd never do that kind of crap.

 

[pkjohnsonm]

You can aileron roll a 152, you just have to get some good speed and maintain positive g's. As long as you do it properly you will not lose much altitude. However, I will NOT promote, nor condone executing acrobatic maneuvers in any aircraft not approved for it.

 

[jetdriven]

I know for a fact the 1900D EFIS has a 90 degree ANU mark.

Vaseline just brought up a good point...I don't have an EFIS, but how would this affect the gyros? (Attitude Ind in particular)

 

[navigator72]

Rolling away in margaritaville

I have this friends cousin, I won't mention any names but I found out through the grapevine that he and another pilot used to roll anything they could get their dirty little hands on. Of course that was a long time ago (or at least that's what my friends cousins cat told me).

Reformed and flying straight............Fly safe

 

[Big Duke Six]

Legalities aside, it's definitely NOT something to mess around with. As others have posted, find someone who knows what they are doing and get an airplane more suited to the task. It's very easy to get yourself into trouble, even in a good ol' 172. Go learn how to do it right, and be safe.

Taking acro instruction is good for ANY pilot, even if you don't want to take up a career in acrobatics. You will learn how airplanes really fly, and your skills will translate into any other airplane you fly in the future. Deep down, they're all the same. It may save your life someday.

 

[rumpletumbler]

Not to mention that you put other peoples lives in danger. I don't want to fly an airplane that some dickhead has been out overstressing. If it doesn't break with them like it did with these guys http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20040924X01489&key=1 then maybe it will with you. These folks damage the a/c just enough so that maybe on a pretty turbulent day you get to ride it in after something snaps.

No delay....is that woman having a bowel movement in your Avatar?

 

[Axel]

Are you the only person who flies the airplane? If not, would you admit it if you tried the maneuver? If you screwed up the maneuver and oversped and/or overstressed the airplane would you contribute that piece of information to the investigation when someone else gets killed in a mysterious inflight break-up?

The question is irresponsible and the bragging that follows is equally so. If you want to fly acro, use an airplane that is built for it.

 

[LJDRVR]

I know for a fact the 1900D EFIS has a 90 degree ANU mark.

Yeah,

And I know for a fact that two regional pilots in New England killed themselves in a 1900 attempting to perform a roll about fifteen years ago while conducting a PC in the airplane. Nice advice.

Other "foolishly attempting a roll" losses?

Sabena 707-400
NA-265 Sabreliner
Falcon 20
Numerous GA

Here's another thing to consider when performing non-certificated maneuvers. Is your airplane equiped with an accelerometer? No. So, you go out and exceed the load factor.

"No sweat dude! there's a margin built in. Chill."

True, you airplane is capable of withstanding 1.5 times it's certified load factor before it fails. What you want to consider though, is that if you exceed the load factor, the metal in your airplane is bent, and you're not returning the same machine to the parking spot that you left. As the other posters have mentioned, who's going to be flying the airplane you just damaged, all because you were curious?

 

[rumpletumbler]

The sabre was the feds wasn't it? I remember in Daytona Beach about 20 some years ago the feds doing ILS checks and they would do their low pass and then roll the sabre as they were passing over the halifax river towards the beach.

 

[EagleRJ]

Many aircraft that "feel" like they have enough roll authority to do a roll will kind of die as they roll through about 180 degrees. That leaves you upside down with roll rate decreasing and airspeed increasing rapidly as the nose falls through. In many previous cases, the result is either having the airframe fail in overload, or hitting the ground if you didn't start high enough.

Many non-aerobatic aircraft can be rolled with little altitude loss or increase in load factor, but only by someone with aerobatic experience using proper technique. Besides being illegal, trying stuff like that is foolish and there is a lot of trouble to be had, as the record of accidents shows.

 

[mtrv]

Many non-aerobatic aircraft can be rolled with little altitude loss or increase in load factor, but only by someone with aerobatic experience using proper technique. Besides being illegal, trying stuff like that is foolish and there is a lot of trouble to be had, as the record of accidents shows.

Despite not having thousands of hours, I did make it a point to take aerobatic instruction over the course of a few years. A lot of spins, including inverted, as well as loops, rolls, vertical rolls, snap rolls, etc.

Some basic pointers for simple aileron rolls, in airplanes without roll rates such as an F-16:

Usually, someone will have done it in your aircraft type previously. From their experience, you'll have a better idea of entry speed & amount of "pull up" above the horizon before the roll.

Depending on the airplane, pull back to pitch 7 -14 degrees above the horizon (this amount can vary). Then neutralize the stick/yoke & proceed with the roll. The important part is to neutralize. The airplane should slightly climb & descend in an arc to maintain positive G's. Should the initial pull-up not be enough, you'll end up pushing forward on the stick while inverted, resulting in negative G's to prevent the nose falling to far below the horizon.

And negative G impact on the aircraft will also vary in design (G-loads), fuel/oil systems, and comfort while hanging from your belts.....