What an amazing time in flight back then. Tex Johnson showed potential Boeing 707 customers what the plane was able to do. Without notice or warning to Boeing executives, Johnson did a barrel roll with his Boeing 707. The video shows the roll, but also has narrative from Johnson and shows a photograph taken from inside the aircraft while it was upside down. Could you imagine the test pilot of the Boeing 787 doing this on their first flight? Not likely.
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VIDEO: Boeing 707 Barrel Roll by Test Pilot Tex Johnson3 comments to VIDEO: Boeing 707 Barrel Roll by Test Pilot Tex Johnson |
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Jaja, a 787 doing that would be crazy!
It wasn’t a 707, it was the Boeing 367-80, or Dash 80. Although the Dash 80 served as a prototype for both the KC-135 & the 707, it was very different from both airplanes in almost every detail. For example, the Dash 80 had a MTOW of only 80 tons vs the 707-120 at 128 tons.
It’s “close enough” to call it a 707 because they were using it to sell 707s.
Just like Johnston was told “don’t do it again”, it seems very unlikely that an even more risk-averse large company today would let their test pilots do a roll on a test flight, much less in front of a crowd. But if flown correctly with enough extra altitude for safety margin, a 1G roll would be completed just as safely today as it was then. There is no technical reason why it couldn’t be done.
Regulations are a different story. Once the wings roll past 60 degrees, it’s aerobatics, which aren’t allowed over congested areas, in controlled airspace and other conditions in FAR 91.303. So it wouldn’t happen over the Seattle metro area without a written waiver from the FAA. And that isn’t going to happen.
There are uncongested/uncontrolled areas where it could be done legally. The only reason why it’s remotely possible that they’d consider it would be simply as a publicity stunt, just like it was in 1955. The first one to do it today would probably reap plenty of new PR from it. But nevermind that. It’s still not likely to happen.