Oh I dunno, it's pretty easy to reach -2G in a poorly done slow roll. You
let the nose drop a bit during knife edge flight, and then push a little too
aggressively to keep the nose up as you come over into inverted, and you'll
be pushing -2G easily. I've done it plenty of times in a Decathlon when I
was rusty.
You're probably right about the positive G's. Loops and other standard
aerobatic maneuvers can normally be done at +3.5G easily, and the difference
between 3.5 and 4.4 is more than most folks would think. The only time I
normally exceed 4.5 in my Decathlon is when I hold a straight downline with
full power and then then pull hard to level.
But then all this presupposes that the pilot knows what he is doing. Sure,
an experienced acro pilot could fly basic maneuvers in a C150 and not be at
serious risk. But a novice who watched it on TV or got some hangar flying
lessons could still easily kill himself trying it. He tries a slow roll,
panics when the engine burbles while inverted, and tries to Split S out of
it. Those wings are coming off.
The older C150s are rated at +4.4 / -1.76 g and you'd be pushing to get
anywhere over either number
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