View Full Version : Upside down aircraft
dontdoit
5th Mar 2011, 14:56
Someone settle a pub argument for me please: Can or cannot a 737 (or similar) fly upside down for a sustained period of time?
con-pilot
5th Mar 2011, 16:17
No, the coffee will spill up (or down) on the top, now bottom, of the cockpit overhead.
Much too messy.
Besides which, the engines will, in a short period of time. be starved of oil, and this is generally not a good thing.
The Coffee will make a mess first, however.
Luckily, there are safeguards preventing the engines from being damaged due to running without oil in this situation. The fuel system will almost immediately cut out the fuel, thus stopping the engines.
con-pilot
6th Mar 2011, 19:52
Well who cares about the lack of oil and/or the engines dying of fuel starvation when one has coffee dripping on his head after rolling right side up.
:p
NZScion
6th Mar 2011, 20:21
Although aerodynamically it should be possible to not use the engines and glide inverted to a suitable landing aerodrome, rolling right way up on short final. I'm sure someone with too much free time can try this out on a sim... :E
A wing like that isn't going to be able to do much of a CL on the negative side, so you'd have to be going pretty fast. Combined with the fuel starvation to the engines, you're going to be dropping like a shuttle on re-entry. The wing structure might also not like that loading. Other than that, I don't see any problems. :cool:
Lafyar Cokov
6th Mar 2011, 21:19
I think alot of guys are missing the point of the original question - at the risk of sounding boring - of course the 737 can fly upside down for prolonged periods of time - or else they wouldn't be certified for use in Australia!
Slasher
7th Mar 2011, 04:44
....or anywhere around Antarctica for that matter.
In the old days during 737 sims we'd shoot the ILS (and G/A
proc) flying it upside down. Bit tricky S/E but after a while one
got the hang of it.