Back to Squawk list
  • 13

Can airliners really fly upside down?

Übermittelt
 
The pilot turned his airliner upside down. On purpose. And it saved nearly a hundred lives. That's the idea behind one of the most intense movie moments of the holiday season: the core scene of "Flight," starring Denzel Washington as pilot Whip Whitaker. Hollywood sure likes Washington's performance. The role earned him an Oscar nomination Thursday on the heels of a Golden Globe nod in December. The film also received a nod for best original screenplay. Spinning movie sets… (www.cnn.com) Mehr...

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]


preacher1
preacher1 5
You best hope you can draw you a nice flight South today. I got about an inch of sleet on the ground here, and a wind chill of about 4. That's too cold for this old man.
joelwiley
joel wiley 1
Bundle up with the dog and stay warm.
whip5209
Ken McIntyre 4
I know a retired Boeing engineer that knew Tex. He said that Tex told him "Do you really think that was the first time I rolled it?" He had practiced out over the Pacific with no one the wiser.
linbb
linbb 2
That is a fact as I was in trade school at Edison Tech about 64 when his copilot came one day to visit his son there told about it. I also talked to a Boeing flight line mechanic while over helping fuel a plane that told about it. Said they came back from test flights sometimes with a panel missing or gyros tumbled claiming the fell out of a stall. Mine came from the right seat man himself.
whip5209
Ken McIntyre 2
That engineer also told me that Tex got suspended from flying for 6 months over that little stunt at the air show. I just laughed and said "Yeah, but it sure sold your company of bunch of airplanes" (707's). The response from my friend was a big grin.
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Keep in mind, he rolled it... Not sustained inverted flight.. Big difference. It would have never maintained inverted flight.
whip5209
Ken McIntyre 1
I never meant to imply "sustained inverted flight." I believe that to be impossible with large commercial jets. I just threw the story in for entertainment.
preacher1
preacher1 4
Well, they need to reach back in time and call Tex. Then there is that legend floating around where an old Captain and young FO were about to lose a 707. Captain gave it to FO at his request as it was a lost cause. FO rolled it and straightened it out. I don't know where that happened at but I have heard it all my life and everybody that tells it swears and be danged it is true but nobody can say who or where it was.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 1
Statute's probably over, so I'll admit to it...
preacher1
preacher1 3
preacher1
preacher1 1
You best hope you can draw you a nice flight South today. I got about an inch of sleet on the ground here, and a wind chill of about 4. That's too cold for this old man.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent Thread•Report
bishops90
Brian Bishop 1
Just don't send it my way like the last two time! I gotta go to CHS Wednesday.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I don't know if it's coming that far South or not. I know that it went ENE from here. MEM got it last nite; over by BNA getting it this morning so idk.
bishops90
Brian Bishop 1
My GF's son at UK in Lexington said 16 degrees and snow there this morning. Just rain here and not even that cold. I'm going for seafood Wednesday night!
preacher1
preacher1 1
15 here with wind chill of 5. high today of only 28 so no thaw until tomorrow.

[This poster has been suspended.]

captoso
A long time ago someone once said: "If it will turn, it will roll"
ray4445
Raymond Fredell 2
Yup, besides Tex Johnson rolling Boeing's 707 (and he was not suspended - the Company President did tell him he was fired if he ever did it again in any Boeing A/C though)Harvey "Hoot" Gibson, Flight 841 in 1979 at TWA rolled a 727 to save the A/C after an uncommanded roll developed at 39,000 feet. It was thought that they had "just 'cracked' the slats by pulling circuit breakers, the belief that the extra lift would give better performance and when they pushed the circuit breakers back in one flap did not retract resulting in the rolling. Hoot Gibson denied doing anything however.
ray4445
Raymond Fredell 1
oops - One slat did not retract...
Musketeer1
Musketeer1 2
If the question is "Is the outcome of what happened in 'Flight' plausible?", the answer is no.
bishops90
Brian Bishop 2
The real plot of the movie (which had nothing to do with aviation) was actually pretty good. Wish they'dve come up with a better way to get to the point. The title "Flight" is actually quite the double entendre' for the Captain's alcohol and drug problem.
sparkie624
sparkie624 3
I really wish they had not mixed the aviation with the alcohol and drugs. I would have really had enjoyed the movie if they had not ruined it with the upside down flight...

1.) The wings will not support flight upside down on this type of a/c.
2.) The Engine Oil would not had lubricated the engine, and would have been an almost immediate lock up... It would not had turned into flames.

The only 2 realistic points of the actual flight was that they used a failure from a plane that not only happened and killed people, but still has the same possibilities today, and 2, when they lowered the gear, the Gear Doors flew off due to over speed.

The rest of the flight part is garbage.
kwu20001
kev wu 1
It's true that some parts of the movie are not real. Because a human body can only withstand about 5g's. Anyway.... the upside down flight is what get's the crowd tensed up.... Its just a movie...
bbabis
bbabis 3
I saw that scene from "Flight" just once. It was one of those movies that after watching you say, "glad I didn't pay to see that one." The little it had to do with flight was all for Hollywood and was closer to comedy. The only thing they got right is that sustained inverted flight will kill your engines. Of course this crew somehow got full power out of them after pulling both fire handles.

Anyway, to answer the question, yes. Any aircraft even some helicopters can go upside down if flown correctly. It is sustained inverted flight meaning -1g that becomes the problem. Alaska Airlines 261 is the one that comes to mind concerning commercial airliners and it turned out pretty much as expected. Nothing against the crew. Real pilots never give up and some have gone way outside the box to save aircraft.
Lonewolf24
Larissa Hamilton 1
(Yes I am quoting Wikipedia here - don't shoot me)

"In 2004, Flight 261 was featured in an episode of Discovery Channel (Canada)'s Mayday television program (also known as Air Emergency in the United States and known as Air Crash Investigation elsewhere), titled Cutting Corners or Fatal Error.
In 2012, the film drama Flight, directed and co-produced by Robert Zemeckis, featured an airplane crash of a craft resembling an MD-83, though the film's version recorded just six fatalities (four passengers, two crew) of the 102 persons aboard. In the film, NTSB investigators determined the probable cause of this crash was the fatigue of a jackscrew due to excess wear and poor maintenance. Screenwriter John Gatins later explained the film's featured crash was "loosely inspired" by the events of Flight 261.[28]"
Kacka
Mke Kacka 1
If the MD80 was made to fly inverted they would have put the landing gear on the top and bottom of the wings.
BOB1386
LARRY MARCUM 1
Fourth time I have tried to post this. FedEx flight 705 hijacked in the 90's I believe. DC10 rolled in uncoordinated fashion and had no problems. Look it up on you tube or better source but youtube has the entire story that was in a documentary. IF you do it right the plane never knows it was rolled like by Tex but this plane and crew knew it and it did just fine and the DC 10 wasn't the greatest. They will take it and a lot more like in severe turbulence. Yes the oil in the engines and Blah Blah Blah. It has been done! BTW the movie wasn't that good.
CaptainFreedom
CaptainFreedom 1
Darn....Whip was my idol....and everyone is raining on his parade :(
JETBLUE7470
DWAYNE TILLMAN 1
Upside down works if done right.
sparkie624
sparkie624 0
In an aerobatic airplane yes... Not in an airliner.. The wing is not designed for it and will not support inverted flight. The DC9/MD80 series CANNOT fly upside down.
yr2012
matt jensen 1
Wrong - in order to save my 9, I flipped it over - broke a lot of frames, and I'm still here.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
I would have to see the Certified FDR/CVR Data to follow that. Sorry for being a skeptic.
chalet
chalet 1
Show us your money with pictures and everything such as but not limited to the reports made by your airline´s mechanics and if the FAA was involved their reports too.
ray4445
Raymond Fredell 1
One needs to understand that when you select flaps the slats are armed and the CB's were pulled to STOP slat activation. The rumored goal was to get just a degree or two of flaps.
MimosaDrive
MimosaDrive 1
http://youtu.be/CVzRaliTuks
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Nice video... But rolling and maintaining flight upside down is 2 different things entirely.
kwu20001
kev wu 1
Just use this as a reference...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nhxm5QEbYI
chalet
chalet 1
I never go to see "aviation" movies because they are a travesty from start to finish. They would show a DC-8 taking off, then the in-flight scenes would be a 727, before landing it would be an L-1011 and on the ramp they would have passengers and the hero pilots of course disembark using old stairs from a DC-6 without even concealing the propellers. There!
kwu20001
kev wu 1
Before reaching that conclusion, I would strongly suggest for you to see 'Non-Stop' Starring Liam Neeson in Theaters right now.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Will have to catch it.. That one got by radar.
chalet
chalet 1
Are you kidding me, such a bad ass movie, same as Airplane and all of those horrible Hollywoodesque crap of which it must be said, I only watched the trailers.
chalet
chalet 1
And what about that travesty called Air Force 1 featuring someone who is 200% aviaton enthusiastic material -and pilot- Harrison Ford. I flick I would not watch even if they offered me a ride on the real AF1 with Potus as a host (LIMAO!!!)
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
The Airplane series is great... The original airplane was loosely based on the John Wayne Movie the High and the Mighty... Don't try to base a real aviation saga on airplane.. I mean really.. Credit card at the captains window, and do you know how long the dip stick would have to be to check the engine oil from the Hood/Radome.. Airplane was just non-ending laughter... Watch it for what it was meant for.. Comedy...
kwu20001
kev wu 1
May I remind you that the movie airplane was made in 1980. These day's aviation movies are getting more action packed and star some great actors

avihais
Martin Haisman 1
Errrrummmmmmahhhhhyeaaahhhhnoooooooooyearrrrrrrsortoffkindoffflikeyenooo...no. Apart from fuel issues and engine lubrication all the other issues of angle of attack, wing cord and a host of other issues in my somewhere I put them aircraft design and structure books also say no.
sparkie624
sparkie624 -1
Impossible, that plane would have never survived that.. This is BS.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 3
Nah, Denzel did it...

Anmelden

Haben Sie kein Konto? Jetzt (kostenlos) registrieren für kundenspezifische Funktionen, Flugbenachrichtigungen und vieles mehr!
Wussten Sie schon, dass die Flugverfolgung auf FlightAware durch Werbung finanziert wird?
Sie können uns dabei helfen, FlightAware weiterhin kostenlos anzubieten, indem Sie Werbung auf FlightAware.com zulassen. Wir engagieren uns dafür, dass unsere Werbung auch in Zukunft zweckmäßig und unaufdringlich ist und Sie beim Surfen nicht stört. Das Erstellen einer Positivliste für Anzeigen auf FlightAware geht schnell und unkompliziert. Alternativ können Sie sich auch für eines unserer Premium-Benutzerkonten entscheiden..
Schließen