Could The Airbus A380 Fly Upside Down?

Have you ever wondered if an aircraft as large as the A380 could fly inverted?
It would undoubtedly be an amazing sight, but unfortunately, it is not possible. While it may be technically feasible (for a very short period, at least), there are several reasons why it can’t happen. Let’s go over these reasons.
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[@JoePez]

“Could an airliner fly upside down?” RyanAir: *Write that down write that down!*

[@ralph411]

That's funny

[@aarondynamics1311]

Their 737s don't even have any systems that would prevent it!

[@guitarheel99]

Boeing Executive: "What the hell were you doing out there Tex!?" Tex Johnson: "Selling airplanes, sir"

[@DaleSteel]

Thats a boeing not airbus

[@AnhNgo-qd9ug]

@@DaleSteel its a joke referencing the selling of 707 lmao when a pilot flew the 707 upside down to prove its capability

[@PhorzaSky]

They should have renamed the plane from 707 to ㄥ0ㄥ

[@neunundfuenfzig]

Me, playing a flight sim: Yes.

[@luchsegamer8112]

Lol du hier?

[@neunundfuenfzig]

@@luchsegamer8112 Na klar 😁

[@MauriceBatkin]

DRURY WE ER 4RRS4Y I Ì

[@neunundfuenfzig]

@@MauriceBatkin what?

[@mgsaviation9292]

Pilot: **tries to make the a380 fly upside down** Airbus computers: *N O*

[@filledwithvariousknowledge1065]

Maybe if pilots turned the computers off it’d be possible. The 707 test pilot (who did 777-200 as his last test one where he was told not to barrel roll it) did a barrel roll where it even went upside temporally to show airlines what the plane could do. He was asked never to do it again

[@Kalvinjj]

@@filledwithvariousknowledge1065 It does make me wonder how much can be disabled, the 707 was all analog stuff, dunno if it even had any digital logic or if even the navigation electronics were all analog circuitry (which I bet they were), but Airbus does allow the pilots to disable or override a lot of the computers, in the end the pilot can always take the control of the aircraft, just dunno how much it allows craziness like that.

[@Ryan_D1994]

Pilot: Alternate Law FTW 😎

[@mgsaviation9292]

@@Ryan_D1994 physics: you might have defeated him, but defeat me now!

[@PlaneSpottingBerlin]

Airliners flying inverted: Impossible Flight simmers: Wait what?

[@eun5oo280]

Tex Johnston: Wait What?

[@julialay6600]

Swiss001: not the 707

[@DosAussieThai]

They even fly underground sometimes LOL

[@siyaaviation3659]

@@DosAussieThai?

[@DosAussieThai]

@@siyaaviation3659 Flight Simulator games. Those players do things that are impossible in the real world.

[@rednightfire2655]

It sure can...in Australia that is

[@lahan3628]

😄😄😄

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

😄😄😄

[@Barney_the_Pufferfish]

no Qantas does it all around the world

[@greateraviationgl91]

"Could the Airbus A380 fly upside down?" Swiss001 be like:

[@Kalvinjj]

Damn that was dark! There was another accident that involved flying inverted, I think it was an Alaska Air/Airlines (what even was the name...) on an MD-80 I think, it had completely lost the control on the horizontal stabilizer.

[@PTB_BE]

I don't know what you're planning, but the FBI is probably interested.

[@mawo-z6r]

0:55 “Then technically inverted flight could occur” Shows footage of the 737MAX

[@hueyrosayaga]

oh no, no, NAOO, GOD PLEASE NO

[@DaleSteel]

Technically any plane can fly inverted yes along as there is enough lift generated by an inverted wing which usually mean a higher speed but airliners for a long time particularly airbus have software stops to stop extreme manoeuvres

[@kevinfuhrmann8849]

I hoped you’d mention the Concorde barrel roll, performed during testing by British Captain Brian Walpole and French Captain Jean Franch.

[@bikedeliveries]

Mentioned load factor is wrong. The aircraft is designed for an envelope of -1G to 2.5G not a blanket 1.5. There is an additional 50% safety margin on top of the above mentioned envelope for structural loading.

[@filledwithvariousknowledge1065]

Isn’t that that’s why planes can take turbulence very well (especially the bigger ones)?

[@dodoubleg2356]

The explanation from Tex Johnson about how he was able to barrel roll & invert a 707 not once but TWICE (an amazing feat no doubt), was really interesting. Thx for including it. Lookin' fwd to the next vid. 😉✌️

[@johndeere865]

Tex Johnson was cool.

[@MtEaster]

A FedEx DC-10 has also flown inverted. During flight 705 a hijacking was performed by a FedEx staff member that was not part of the piloting-crew. The pilots were able to push him back out of the cockpit and 2 of the 3 pilots started to fight in the back. The last remaining pilot (with former air force experience) realised that their airplane was their greatest weapon. So to disorientate the hijacker he inverted the plane. They were able to keep the hijacker at bay and land shortly afterwards at a nearby airport.

[@ianmcgarrigle8492]

A barrel roll was done in a Boeing 707 way back in the 1950's. It's on Utube if you don't believe me.

[@Hawka-Loogy]

Lots of blue fluid on the floors (and ceiling). But the bent flaps would be even worse. I never flew a bus, but I recall the airplane won’t allow bank 45, or so.

[@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549]

Should stay dry if you maintain positive G

[@davidf6326]

@@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549 Forgive my ignorance here, but isn't flying upside down negative G by its very nature?

[@commerce-usa]

@@davidf6326 if you take a bucket of water and flip it over, the gravity pulls down, you get wet. Tie a rope to the handle and swing it with enough force to keep the rope tight, you won't get wet. Kind of why a corkscrew barrel roll keeps 1g on the aircraft. If done well, just like the bucket, not a drop spills.

[@davidf6326]

@@commerce-usa Thanks for the helpful explanation. I understand what you're saying with respect to a barrel roll, however, the proposition here is flying upside down in a prolonged manner. Surely then, the aircraft is at MINUS 1g?

[@Kalvinjj]

@@davidf6326 THAT case indeed, is minus 1G. You're literally just upside down, not rotating like a barrel roll. And that's what is not possible on a commercial jetliner, the wings alone won't allow it even if the rest did (did a quite big comment on that here, you happen to find it).

[@stevemcdonald1033]

Nice program and explanation. But the Dash 80 pilot was named Tex Johnston and his barrel rolls were done in 1954. He was immediately fired, but when the foreign customers who saw those rolls doubled their orders, he was hired back, along with his pledge never to do that again.

[@Dhiaw]

Great content keep up the post!!

[@TDCflyer]

Could they? No. It's not even about the fuel and lubrication systems, those have to stay operational even at short negative-G periods as they occur in turbulences. The one factor that makes it impossible is the aerodynamic layout of commercial aircraft. The wing is not designed to produce "negative lift" or "inverted lift" which would be the requirement in order to sustain inverted flight. The airfoil simply can't do it. Aerobatic planes have symmetric airfoils, meaning the upper and the lower surface have the same curve to it. Those are not very efficient for travelling, they are explicitely made for aerobatics. Even Tex Johnson had to make sure to fly something resembling a ballistic curve in order to do the barrel roll, just as he later explained: It was a 1 G maneuver, the plane never knew it went inverted. What he did was a well executed barrel roll, not "flying upside down".

[@jaev_97]

2:39 Alaskan Airlines 261: *am I a joke to you?*

[@trijetz3562]

You don't understand how humoristic it is to get a notification about an A380 flying upside down while you are doing your school work

[@aymanirfanshah]

Trijetz same bro, i was doing my work

[@dewiz9596]

You were doing school work about an A380 flying upside down? I hope it wasn’t an English Grammar assignment 😀

[@trijetz3562]

@@dewiz9596 oh... weird way to point something out but ok

[@trijetz3562]

@@dewiz9596 is my grammar better now?

[@FadhilRamadhan]

Well it's almost midnight here and seeing this notification wonders if i already slept or not lol

[@Calebs_Aviation]

I think it could be very cool and possible if proper systems were overridden for inverted flight. You would also need to install proper fuel and oil pumps that have vacuum suction so that they work upside down...

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

Apart from that I wonder if it would be aerodinamically possible

[@GhostSheep96]

At first I thought, this was a Swiss001 Video when it appeared in my subscription box, till I read the name of the Channel 😂

[@HeadPack]

As long as the centrifugal forces in a barrel roll compensate for the gravity pull, why not?

[@Barabyk]

Just a slight correction - air transport category aircraft are certified for 2.5 not 1.5 g of positive load. As I just checked in 'normal law' of flight controls operation A380 can reach a bank angle of 67 degrees - which translates to a load factor of 2.5g (60 deg is 2g, still quite uncomfortable).

[@SurveyCorpsHikari]

"Can you fly an A380 upside down?" Meanwhile in GTA:

[@itstomatogear6806]

We don't have a380 in gta 5

[@SurveyCorpsHikari]

@@itstomatogear6806 m o d s .

[@PakaBubi]

There was that 90s movie where a 747 flew upside done for a period :D

[@rx-11-rse]

could an airliner fly upside down? Ryanair: Y E S

[@commerce-usa]

A family friend was a Captain for Eastern Airlines. The 747 can also do the 1g barrel roll, though it was done without passengers. Of course, there was a 727 flight who did try the roll with passengers. One or two passengers noticed the nighttime roll and upon landing, the CVR and FDR sealed the fate of that flight deck crew.

[@Andy_001_]

I would be happy just to see more A380s back in the air flying normally...

[@Justwantahover]

Good idea for a KZbin video! Flying an Airbus A380 upside down. You would have to get footage inside the plane with hats falling off heads (or whatever) to verify it's really upside down.

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

Very few people wear hats but people with long hair (girls mainly) would have their hair dangle from their heads

[@Deevo037]

I suppose its doable but you'd have to be able to override a lot of the safety features that exist on modern airliners. Still like the 707 it'd be interesting to see.

[@anthonyvallillo422]

Tex should have added - it's a one G maneuver WHEN DONE PERFECTLY! If not done perfectly, you can pull quite a few G's trying to recover from the inverted dive you can easily end up in. Tex actually practiced the maneuver out in the hinterlands a day or two prior to the show, and one can suspect at a somewhat higher altitude as well! The 727 was also inverted at least once - the infamous Hoot Gibson incident, where the airplane was split-S'ed, which involves rolling inverted and then performing the second half of a loop. In this instance, the inverted flight was accidental, following the loss of some leading edge devices on one of the wings. As the video points out, you would have to get an Airbus down to direct law, or something like that, to even be able to roll or pitch into inverted flight. And although airliners are capable of handling close to 3 G's, not 1.5, an airplane like a 380 would require tens of thousands of feet of altitude to recover in pitch, and probably at least 10,000 feet to recover in roll. This has been "done" in simulators with some regularity, and an amusing incident is anecdotally said to have taken place in an early 747 full motion simulator, when the pilots tried to roll the airplane with the motion on. Apparently the motion system got so out of balance trying to replicate the feel of the roll that the entire simulator, cab and supports, fell over on its side!

[@Caledon91]

Boeing: "The MD-80 was designed to fly upright." Alaska Airlines: "Hold my beer."

[@commerce-usa]

Yep, a very sad one in which that crew fought to do everything they could to try to save the flight. The crash itself had little if anything to do with the inverted flight.

[@Caledon91]

@@commerce-usa It's very sad. The crew were heroes doing the best they could. It's a shame Alaska got away with ignoring vital maintenance, silenced the whistle blowers, and didn't really get any punishments the deeds. Yet they're allowed to buy airlines with cleaner safety records and better services and then all of a sudden their second-hand aircraft conveniently starts having maintenance issues.

[@commerce-usa]

@@Caledon91 it is indeed. Thanks for adding some important details that lead to that awful day.

[@luchsegamer8112]

The question is: *why it should?*

[@Mwams]

Could i fly upsde down?: Swiss001:'NOW HEY GUYS.Welcome to todays video where we will try to fly upside down.'

[@arliesam948]

This reminded me of FedEx flight 705

[@theredstonebuilder1120]

I remember watching that ACI episode as a kid, I was traumatised by the blood and stuff

[@WASIURPA]

And Alaska Airlines 261

[@arliesam948]

@@WASIURPA your correct I forgot about that flight the plane flew inverted very sad tragedy

[@julialay6600]

Boeing: the MD 80 cannot fly upside down Alaska airlines flight 261: are you sure about that

[@Mark-uh7cr]

One question... why?

[@alexanderhall4281]

I was going to mention the flight film, but you mentioned that before I could leave a comment. Which answers my question. Thank you. Could a Concorde do it since it's more streamlined.

[@markmezo]

It did do it during testing but never with passengers, Concorde was also designed to withstand 2.5G.

[@Inkling777]

The remarks about the barrel roll are interesting. Keep the forces 1-G down and the plane never knows it is upside down. A pilot could barrel roll for hours without a hitch.

[@Gamecorem]

The statement that flying upside down would mean the same for the airframe as flying normally is not entirely correct: The gravitational accelerations and lift on the wings would apply in an inverted way (usually, this is denoted as load factor -1). The airframe is specifically designed for higher positive than negative load factors. An example of this is that usually, there are more lateral stiffeners on the top face of the wing compared to on the bottom face. This is due to the fact that resistance of the upward bending moment is much more important than resisting a downward bending moment. These asymmetries in the plane's airframe make load factor -1 radically different from load factor 1.

[@MSRTA_Productions]

No but the 747 can go inverted via FSX Physics Comedy 100

[@affanali214]

Lol

[@aomar220]

You need to see the full story about the Dash 80 roll... It's fantastic.....

[@aviationofnepal178]

A380 can't fly upside down Infinite flight A380: *Am I a joke to you?*

[@AluminumOxide]

In the movie Turbulence (1997) theres a scene where a Boeing 747 flies inverted for 10 minutes during a storm!

[@davidkamen]

Which clearly indicates that once in a while Boeing builds better aircraft

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

That makes it a fact then for everyone.

[@HailAnts]

Many clues as to that not exactly being realistic. Biggest being that that was a *terrible* joke of a movie..

[@jhmcd2]

Like that Dash 8 guy said, its probably possible when done in certain maneuvers, but holding it there...well that will just land you a spot in a field somewhere. Although I would be curious if the A380 with that double deck would even be capable of a barrel roll.

[@philhowells7715]

It'd spill my champagne 🥂🍾

[@you_want_some_gamer8553]

2:08 got a love the tutor and the snowbirds

[@kolorado7260]

Only one way to find out

[@Kalvinjj]

The wing profiles themselves would at most allow a barrel roll like the dash-80 did, even modifying everything else, sustained inverted flight would not work, it just has not enough lift for it on any commercial aviation aircraft, only the control surfaces would be pushing it upwards, the wings would in fact keep pushing it downwards instead. Acrobatic aircraft have symmetrical wing profiles that in fact generate lift only depending on their angle of attack, they can thus make lift to any direction as long as it's got the correct attitude to it, and that allows them to fly inverted for as long as the pilot can handle. Source: bunch of research for fluid dynamics presentation... Damn that thing made me crazy back then

[@Vikesh7896]

how bout descending vertically in a whirpool pattern barrel roll

[@callmeac]

We also know that DHC-8 is capable of a barrel roll without any structure damages.

[@luisbrandalise]

Around 30 years ago a Brazilian captain performed a tonneau with a cargo 737. He was obviously fired. Lots of people in the brazilian aviation know this story. The pilot is around 70 now, retired and I believe he still flies small.planes nowadays.

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

I didn't know about this so I just googled it and found it was a hijack, with the maneuver being an attempt to knock the hijacker down. It wasn't done on a whim

[@ryanblower9257]

The con Concorde did a barrel roll as well. there are many accounts of it happening.

[@chinwakebhai]

If you had a fly in the middle of the cabin what attitude would it take during inverted flight ?

[@ricklehurst]

You need to look up the difference between a barrel roll & an aileron roll.

[@RedLP5000S]

An answer to a question that nobody asked. 😁

[@sylviaelse5086]

Seems to me that Tex Johnson's comments would apply to any airliner, with caveat that the modern electronic systems can determine the aircraft's attitude. Disable the protections, and it should be possible, even if not a good idea.

[@GeorgeInAShed]

"Inverted flight is essentially normal flight at 1g" incorrect, it is actually -1g and is totally different stress on the airframe. (the wings are being bent in the opposite direction.) Typically aerobatic aircraft are rated to +6g but only to -2/4g or so and the stress is different.

[@GeorgeInAShed]

Note a barrel roll is not the same as "flying upside down" as you maintain the +1g load factor and are only inverted for a few moments, not sustained.

[@tigerseye73]

Tex did a barrel roll, (2 actually ). He didn't stay inverted, thus the plane only felt a + 1G during each roll. No neg G's. You took his statement out of context. If he had stayed inverted for prolonged flight, THEN the wing would be flying with - 1G. Pretty sure most wings are rated for at least that much load anyway. Engine lube and fuel delivery while inverted for any length of time would cause a series of events leading to an emergency landing attempt.

[@GeorgeInAShed]

@@tigerseye73 right at the beginning the narrator says being inverted is the same as normal flight which it is not. The video is about flying inverted, not doing a barrel roll.

[@mackucharski]

Some say, that the test pilots of Concorde has once flipped Her Majesty on test flights.

[@rafous0206]

In the mid 80/90s in Brazil a pilot flew a 737-300 from VASP inverted for a quick period to knockout a hijacker that was in the cockpit. The copilot was already dead (shot in the head). After this maneuver he deliberately made the 737 start a spinning towards the ground and finally the hijacker was on the floor and he landed on the runway in front of him (he was luck, man). Boeing came to Brazil to look at the aircraft and the data because it shouldn't be able to handle the stress. One engine was already dead because it ran out of fuel while he was performing the maneuvers. Sounds like BS BUT this is a true history. Ps.: yes, the 737 had structure damage after all of this

[@AviationEdition1]

Perfect for Qantas!

[@markiangooley]

I was going to mention that 707 but of course it was brought up in this video...

[@teddynebel]

I wanna be a test pilot just for this reason, do aerobatics in an a320

[@HyperSarcasticAvocado]

Uhh how else would it get to Australia?

[@iiyuhhfulx]

People that dont know much about aviation: Can planes fly upside down :o

[@saladdinzero7379]

Qantas fly it in Australia, so yes.

[@yuno1707]

Yeah it's australia so it should work

[@nurrizadjatmiko21]

For me, That could be pretty dangerous and especially for the A380.

[@prettymiffedbrit]

Concorde did a barrel roll in test flights I believe. It wasn't well advertised as you can imagine.

[@Lee247Jamaica]

Breaking news: Emirates a380 crash killing 250 people in board after inverted in the air

[@davidkamen]

Probably just as well, with 250 passengers they were not making money. At least your way they can collect the insurance payout.

[@Lee247Jamaica]

@@davidkamen true lol

[@LaczPro]

Where is that 707 prototype?

[@caledonia112]

Pretty sure the guy that stole the dash8 at Sea-tac proved it is possible.

[@spdaltid]

Tex performed a positive G manoeuvre, inverted flight is negative G. Not the same. Yes, you can fly inverted in the flight simulator [ if necessary by over ridinng FBW envelope protection], but with no flight test data available for inverted flight, the database lacks any true fidelity. The FedEx example mentioned in the comments was a dynamic short term performance and not fully inverted at any time.

[@lukemilner9787]

Bro, Concorde was that incredible they actually did a barrel roll 😭😭 Such a shame...

[@Blooga_]

Airliner: Flies upside down Wings: GOODBYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@onair6652]

Thank you, thank you, thank you :)

[@Arne1998]

Boeing 707: hold my beer

[@ml9849]

Bear in mind there are negative and positive G limits.

[@ks4733]

What about the Alaska airlines accident?

[@dreffon9213]

Not mentioning the Alaskan Airlines flight?

[@danielkorladis7869]

Of course the test pilot's name was Tex.

[@HydroSheep]

the plane said 🔁

[@NihalAGesudraz]

Slow day in the industry, huh?

[@SimpleFlyingNews]

Hey Nihal, our KZbin content is planned in advance so we don't experience 'slow days'. - TB

[@mbenidze]

A380 not but A400M can do a loop in which it's briefly inverted.

[@njjeff201]

Why? Doesn’t airline food already make you throw up?

[@siyaaviation3659]

Swiss001:It's free real estate

[@alexandernorman5337]

Honestly, why would anyone care if it could?

[@TheByard]

Just think of all that champers on the ceiling or was that the floor.

[@LOLOtheFNG]

SkyKing: Hold my beer

[@matthiashartge5520]

How can an inverted wing produce lift to keep the plane up in the air? The direction the aerodynamic lift is produced is the same seen from the wing, right? So why wouldn't the plane be sucked downwards?

[@HailAnts]

Because believe it or not, the famous Bernoulli effect is _not_ the major force that lets aircraft fly. It’s their angle of attack. Essentially aircraft fly mostly for the same reason that running with a barn door tries to fly. The Devil’s in the details..

[@ElectricUAM]

I thought an MD-80 did fly upside down before it crashed into the sea. Does anyone remember this?

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

Yes, Alaska Airlines flight 261

[@Spudics]

If it’s in Australia yes

[@4468st]

Also the concord did a barrel roll

[@audiomixermike]

Yes, straight into the ground.

[@mr.cebraman7823]

But quantas has (or had) A380s

[@yuno1707]

aren't planes on australia flying upside down

[@jeffsteury4645]

As far as airframe rating, NEGATIVE 1.5 G! An aircraft rated for only 1.5 POSITIVE G (not inverted) would not be certified, a 60 degree banked turn alone pulls 2 positive G. Also, a properly executed barrel role does not result in any negative G forces.

[@elonironspace2968]

Flight simmers : whaaaaattt

[@morethan3756]

One good reason: coffee.

[@jariswanson5590]

You know they’re running out of video ideas now

[@himap3842]

Yes, but just once