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"An airplane performing one slow revolution around its longitudinal axis is performing one of these..."

This was a clue on Jeopardy today. The contestant responded with, "What is a barrel roll?" which I contend is incorrect. But he earned $2000 for it.

My response would have been: "What is an aileron roll?" Is he correct, am I correct, or are we both correct?

mins
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TomMcW
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1 Answers1

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What is an Aileron Roll?

You are correct, but should we really expect that level of precision from the entertainment business or the media?

Community
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J W
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  • I have lost all faith in Alex Trebek [shakes head in disappointment] – TomMcW Jan 11 '17 at 03:41
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    To be fair, a slow aileron roll executed by a slower, lower performance aircraft will also not be merely a revolution about the aircraft's longitudinal axis since a true aileron roll involves maneuvering to maintain altitude. – J W Jan 11 '17 at 03:50
  • As long the longitudinal axis stays with the aircraft (as every sane pilot will strive for), any roll will be correct since it does not exclude other manouevres. – Rob Vermeulen Jan 11 '17 at 18:33