Judah writes:

1) At a 45 degree bank, the wings are not actually pointed directly down.

Even at a 45-degree bank, the wake will still descend (and it will also move
outward, making it hard to catch as well).

3) Wind can blow the wake in any number of directions, including up, and
including into the path of the 360 degree turn.

But it will blow the aircraft in the same direction. The wake will still
descend relative to the aircraft.

Do you think it is more likely that the pilots on this newsgroup who
express that they have flown through their own wake while performing this
manuever are just lying to you?

No. I think they just don't realize that they were descending when they
caught their own wakes.

Or perhaps you have miscalculated or omitted something from your
calculations.

I didn't calculate much; I just looked things up. Without exception, every
source says that the wake descends. And it has to, since that's the only way
to keep the aircraft flying.

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