“It’s a one-G maneuver. It’s absolutely nonhazardous, but it’s very impressive.”
So Tex Johnson explained himself to Boeing president Bill Allen after performing an impromptu barrel-roll in the 707 prototype before a Seattle gathering of IATA bigwigs. Equally impressive, but more subtle, was Bob Hoover’s demonstration, watchable on YouTube, that he could smoothly pour water from a pitcher into a glass while rolling an Aero Commander, and people sitting back in the cabin might be unaware that anything unusual had occurred.
