Bob Moore wrote:
Chris Colohan wrote
"...So I came accross and did a chandelle..."

Well....It certainly was NOT a chandelle, which is a climbing 180
degree change of direction.

No arguments there.

I was disappointed somewhat later in the video when Tex stated that:

"I had perfected aerobatics years and years ago and as I said, it
was a 1g maneuver."


It is probably dangerous and stupid to try to guess the meaning of
another's words taken out of context and years after the fact. OTOH,
this is usenet, so... :-)

It would seem to me that the forces acting on the airplane (and pilot)
during the part of the roll where the airplane is inverted are what
most people wouldn't understand. Tex Johnson obviously knew that one
can't fly an aileron roll or a barrel roll without pulling a little g
on the way in and on the way out. It's not hard, however, to maintain
1 positive g while the airplane is upside-down. Maybe that's what he
was talking about?

Assuming the maneuver starts with a bag full of speed, a judicious
pitch rate, an airplane capable of a reasonable roll rate, and proper
placement of the nose before starting the roll, the whole thing can be
done easily with 2-ish g's and little-to-no seat puckering. (Make a
mistake in timing or control, however, and all bets are off.) Tex knew
what he was doing, and the tape proves it.

-Dave Russell
N2S-3