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  Space Shuttles - Space Station
  Flying the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft upside down

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Author Topic:   Flying the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft upside down
spaceman1953
Member

Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 06-04-2009 03:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceman1953   Click Here to Email spaceman1953     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So, I have this shuttle in California that I need toget back to Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and I've got it fastened onto the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Now I am flying really high and fast and all of a sudden I have the urge to fly my 747 upside down for a few minutes.

Will my shuttle fall off?

You all know everything, so I thought I would ask!

Mr Meek
Member

Posts: 353
From: Chattanooga, TN
Registered: Dec 2007

posted 06-04-2009 03:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mr Meek     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Your real question should be, "Will my SCA and shuttle disintegrate as I roll them over?"

And for that, I do not know the answer.

328KF
Member

Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 06-04-2009 04:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The real question is, "How much do you value your career as an SCA pilot?"

ilbasso
Member

Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 06-04-2009 07:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ilbasso   Click Here to Email ilbasso     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Dottie Norkus, a pilot and charter member of Women in Aviation International, says that it is possible to execute a barrel roll in a 747:

"Yes, it is possible to roll a 747, though such an aerobatic maneuver isn't something one would do in a transport category aircraft. A 1G roll would not stress the airframe at all, nor would it cause it to break up. (Moderate turbulence would "stress" it more. Those jets are built to handle quite a load."

She references "Tex" Johnston's aileron roll of the first 707 in 1955 as being similar to the expected performance of the 747.

I wonder if you would have to have someone in the Shuttle, coordinating elevon movements at the same time as the 747 pilot.

Has anyone tried simulating this in XPlane or one of the other flight sims? You would expect them to give a pretty faithful simulation of the flight characteristics.

Lou Chinal
Member

Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007

posted 06-04-2009 09:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Lou Chinal   Click Here to Email Lou Chinal     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The shuttle control surfaces are locked during the flight back to KSC.

If you do have the urge to fly upside down... have a V8 instead.

Atlantis
Member

Posts: 111
From: Cullman, AL
Registered: Dec 2007

posted 06-04-2009 11:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Atlantis   Click Here to Email Atlantis     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was succesful rolling the SCA stack in Orbiter.

kr4mula
Member

Posts: 642
From: Cinci, OH
Registered: Mar 2006

posted 06-05-2009 10:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for kr4mula   Click Here to Email kr4mula     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Are the mounts strong enough to hold the weight (plus any downward lift that might be generated) of the orbiter upside down? or would the orbiter fall off?

ilbasso
Member

Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 06-05-2009 11:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ilbasso   Click Here to Email ilbasso     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If you could do a barrel roll (constant 1G), the weight wouldn't be a problem. There would be some shear forces, though.

spaceman1953
Member

Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 06-09-2009 06:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceman1953   Click Here to Email spaceman1953     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well, as I expected, you all did NOT let me down! Some GREAT "one-liners" here! Thanks!

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