Rolling a 172 - or not

Or the corkscrew motion of an aileron roll must provide enough "outward"
(normal) force to counteract the downward force of gravity.

I think I understand what you're saying, Hamish. It may depend on the
airplane. An SNJ doesn't "corkscrew" very much. It would hardly be
enough to provide positive G in excess of 1.0.

The maneuver starts with a pullup...

It does start with a slight pullup, but then then back-prssure on the
stick is released, to produce what approximates a zero-G situation.
(Don't you do that in an Aerobat?)

I thnk the best description of an aileron roll is to call it a zero-G
maneuver. Not *exactly* zero, to the tenth decimal place, but close to
zero all the way around.

and that pullup is never really lost

I don't understand that. I need to use some right rudder after
passing the half-way point of a left aileron roll, or I'll end up
with the nose pointing down about 20 degrees.

(unlike the slow roll, which can result in negative G's in many aircraft).

I don't understand that, either. You're saying there are airplanes
that can perform a slow roll without experiencing negative Gs?

vince norris