OZZI PPL and other young low time pilots.
Watching that video send shivers down my spine. As an Ex-mil pilot and current aeros instructor, that is a classic example of how NOT to roll an aircraft, especially one that is not certified for aerobatics.
Normally I wouldn't worry about posting about something like this, however I think it's relevant as the aircraft YOU are doing circuits in, might have had this done to it.
You may well ask what was wrong with what he did? Let me try and equate it like this. Would you consider it safe to trim fully forward at 200ft and let go of the controls for 5 seconds and then land the aircraft? In theory it would be possible to land successfully, but if someone saw you do it they would think you were crazy and after watching you thump it in they wouldn't want to fly that aircraft.
Now lets look at that footage, now you hear all the time that a barrel roll is a 1 G maneuver. Do you think he was pulling 1 G at the bottom?
I think not... why not after all it's a 1G maneuver!!!!!
A barrel roll should start and finish at the same height and at the same speed... Do you think that was the case?
That's because it's not a 1G maneuver... 1G is straight and level, to deviate from that you MUST be pulling more than 1G, when you hear that comment, it actually means that it's a 2G maneuver 1 + 1. That being said, I have not had one student successfully do a barrel roll remaining within 2G.
How close to the edge of the envelope was he....? I'd say pretty close, probable as close as you would be trying to land trimmed fully forward, but you can't tell, as it has no G Meter, so you don't know if it has been overstressed or not.
So what about the aircraft? There is a reason that you are not supposed to do aerobatics and that reason is the same as the reason you can't drive your Hyundai Excel around Bathurst at 150K's.... It's not designed for it and you will quickly exceed the limits of engine/brakes. Would you want to drive a car that always has it's gears changed 100rpm below red line? Or that always goes from max power to full brakes....?
So can you safely draw a conclusion that that particular pilot did not really know what he was doing? I hope so...
I hope you can see what I'm trying to say here, PLEASE don't try this stuff, if you want the thrills of Aerobatics, great, it will make you a better pilot, just don't do it in a Tommi !
Cheers
Wombat