On May 2, 12:52 am, gt wrote:
I own a 1960 Cessna 172 with 2500 hours on the airframe. It is not
rated for aerobatic flight, but the positive and negative G loads that
it is approved for far exceed the normal G forces associated with a
well-executed barrel roll.

Has anyone heard of this maneuver being performed in a 1960 172?


Almost any aircraft can be rolled whether barrel or aileron. The main
concern is to have enough energy (speed) to complete the manuever
without falling out of the top of it. The next concern is to have the
training and experience to perform the maneuver. I have no doubt that
the 172 has been rolled many times by many thousands of pilots. I
know one pilot that told me he had rolled everything he flew including
the Shorts 360 and the 172. I know another pilot who fell out of the
top of a barrel roll in a Vampire jet fighter/trainer and almost
crashed. The first pilot had trained in Decathlons and Pitts the
second one hadn't.

John Dupre'