Slow roll (aviation)

A slow roll is a roll made by an airplane, in which the plane makes a complete rotation around its roll axis while keeping the aircraft flying a straight and level flightpath. A slow roll is performed slower than an aileron roll; although it is not necessarily performed very slow, it is performed slow enough to allow the pilot to maintain balance, keeping a steady flightpath, pitch angle (nose attitude), and height (altitude) throughout the maneuver. The maneuver is performed by rolling the airplane at a controlled rate with the ailerons, and moving the elevators and rudder in opposition, or "cross-controlling," to keep the plane on a steady, level flightpath.

A slow roll is an aerobatic maneuver in which an airplane makes a controlled roll by rotating about its longitudinal axis. It is performed by rolling the aircraft at a constant rate, while manipulating the control surfaces to maintain level flight. The maneuver consists of quickly moving the aileron input to a desired position (usually less than full) and holding it steady while constantly varying the elevator and rudder inputs, counteracting the force of gravity. Due to the difficulty of maintaining level flight while slowly rolling, the slow roll is often used as an aerobatic training-maneuver, teaching the pilot to coordinate the movements of all three surfaces (elevators, ailerons, and rudder) simultaneously.

The slow roll appears similar to the aileron roll, except the roll rate is typically slower, and both the aircraft attitude and altitude are held consistent throughout the maneuver. The slow roll produces a constantly shifting load of one g-force on both the pilot and the aircraft, from one g positive in the upright position to one g negative in the inverted, caused by gravity. At the midpoint of the roll, the pilot will be hanging upside-down by the seatbelt, and any loose debris in the cockpit will fall to the canopy or out of the plane.

The rate at which a slow roll can be performed is often determined by skill of the pilot. The better the pilot; the faster the roll can be performed. The slow roll is often used in aerobatic competitions and shows, displaying the pilot's ability to control the plane. Most rolls performed by fighter aircraft are slow rolls or partial slow-rolls, as opposed to an uncontrolled aileron roll, and this is especially true when flying in formation. A variation of the slow roll is the "hesitation roll," in which the pilot stops the roll at various "points" during the maneuver, maintaining a level flightpath at whatever angle of bank for a short time, such as 90 degrees (wings-vertical), 135 degrees (partly inverted) or 180 degrees (fully inverted). The pilot will then continue the roll to the next point, hesitating again. Such a roll may consist of any number of points, which are usually evenly spaced, with the most common being the two-point, three-point, and four-point rolls. However, the difficulty in maintaining level flight at the various angles requires the pilot to fully master the slow roll before attempting a hesitation roll.

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