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The 60 year anniversary of -THE- "barrel roll"...
that truly launched us into the passenger jet age. A retired Boeing engineer told me that Tex got suspended from flying for a couple of months over this stunt. (www.seattletimes.com) 기타...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I just remembered another little tidbit that engineer told me. That engineer told Tex that roll was quite a risky move to pull over a crowded city without notice. Tex looked him in the eye and replied. "That wasn't the first time I'd done it. I tried it out over the Pacific ocean a few days before!"
One of the best moments in airline history.... I doubt there are many that would be willing to do it today. Rules or No Rules.
The 707 would have been just another "Comet" (British aircraft) that did not excite the market if Johnston had not done the roll in front of prospective clients. Allen was clearly angry, but Tex's stunt would never have been approved by management. Without the immediate success of the 707 with an order from Pan Am for 20 units there might never had been a 747. Allen should have been thrilled.
I am thrilled I don't need to spend days island hopping on propeller planes to get to the other side of the world.
I am thrilled I don't need to spend days island hopping on propeller planes to get to the other side of the world.
Just another Comet? It was a world beater AT THE TIME. That was years ahead of the 707 and would have "excited the market" had it not been for the accidents from which Boeing and everyone else ultimately learnt the lessons. Don't forget the Brits shared that knowledge with the world.
Tex was the best! He made a brilliant statement of what the aircraft could do. Just proves the power, pilot and Boeing ingenuity. Well done "Tex"! That stunt will and is a "Legend"!
"Several years later a French test pilot attempted the same in an Airbus. The plane decided it wasn't a good idea and promptly went into a nosedive."