History Main / DoABarrelRoll

** In the [[Film/ANewHope original]] ''Franchise/StarWars'' film, our hero has a Tie Fighter on his tail. Rather than perform some extraordinary maneuver himself, he is saved when [[EnsembleDarkhorse Wedge]] dives in at him head-on, getting between him and the TIE to blast the bad guy point-blank. Which is an excellent example of a RealLife combat maneuver known as the ThachWeave.

* An extreme version of the barrel roll, called the ''corkscrew'', was a heroic remedy for British heavy bombers trying to break out of searchlight coning or else to shake of a pursuing night fighter. This took a toll on pilot strength and could actually be dangerous for a four-engined bomber with a full load, but at night it tended to succeed in shaking off pursuit or breaking out of a revealing searchlight beam. Technically speaking, the ''corkscrew'' is NOT a barrel roll. It is the ''scissors'' maneuver in three dimensions instead of two.

* A part of ''VideoGame/StarFox'' since the very first game. Peppy Hare's command to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIkJvY96i8w "do a barrel roll!"]] to get yourself out of trouble became a big [[MemeticMutation Internet meme]], and [[TropeNamers gave this trope its name]]. Although the "barrel roll" in the game is actually an aileron roll. For some unfathomable reason, doing a barrel roll gives your ship 95% immunity to any attack an enemy might throw at you. Put simply, SpinToDeflectStuff. The Player's Guide for ''Star Fox 64'' {{handwave}}s it by saying the roll amplifies the effect from the Arwing's G-diffuser, using it to boost the ship's shields.

** In the [[Film/ANewHope original]] ''Franchise/StarWars'' film, our hero has a Tie Fighter on his tail. Rather than perform some extraordinary maneuver himself, he is saved when [[EnsembleDarkhorse Wedge]] dives in at him head-on, getting between him and the TIE to blast the bad guy point-blank. Which is an excellent example of a RealLife combat maneuver known as the {{Thach Weave}}.

* Seaborne example: anchor turn in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl''.
** "Club hauling" -- a legitimate term of the manoeuvre of turning the ship when you don't have steerage way by dropping an anchor and pivoting around it. Normally done MUCH more slowly than in the film, but the name at least is one of the rare accurate moments in the series.

* In ''Film/TheATeam'', Murdock does a barrel roll in a civilian medic helicopter, then in a C-130. Just to be clear, very few helicopters can be barrel rolled, and rolling a C-130 is a job for a professional stunt pilot.
** And just to make his passengers' lives even scarier, halfway through the roll he says, "I've never tried this before!" Face's expression of sheer terror is a thing of beauty, not to speak of B.A....
*** Just to be clear, before the helicopter barrel roll, BA was a fully jump qualified US Ranger (ie regularly jumped out of planes). After Murdock's stunt he is deadly afraid to even be in any machine capable of flight.

* In ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', Film/JamesBond makes a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzCIbhLUUA0&feature=related 360º corkscrew jump with a car]] (which he precedes with "Ever heard of UsefulNotes/EvelKnievel?"). And it was real! Too bad it is somewhat ruined by a {{Narm}}y sound effect...
** Possibly referenced in ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', where Bond is in a helicopter that does several of these, though he isn't the pilot.

[[caption-width-right:350: It's just a matter of [[VideoGame/StarFox64 pressing Z or R twice.]]]]

->''"Do a Barrel Roll!"''

[[caption-width-right:350: To do this, [[VideoGame/StarFox64 press Z or R twice!]]]]

->''"Roll! You've got to try rolling!"''
-->-- '''Peppy Hare''', ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault''

->''"Do a barrel roll!"''
-->-- '''Peppy Hare''', ''VideoGame/StarFox64''

So, you have this CoolShip, CoolPlane, Cool Whatever. Now, what to do with it? Sure, you can show it off and see how everyone turns green with envy, but the kind of stories frequented by Cool Means Of Travel usually request you to use it a bit more actively. Like, engage in fighting and stuff. At times, it's awesome enough when you [[BeamSpam open]] [[MacrossMissileMassacre fire]]. At others... Not so much. So, what should you do to meet the expectations of the audience?

** Also from ''Star Trek'', the [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Picard Maneuver]], in which Picard used short-range warp jumps to take advantage of the ship moving faster than the light reflecting off it (creating an illusion of two ships being in the area at once).

** Ironically, only ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxAssault Assault]]'' lets you do an ''actual'' barrel roll. In every other game, it's an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileron_roll aileron roll]].

*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ze87zQFSak Parodied in Collegehumor]].

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'', [[spoiler: Hydreigon]] does this when he pulls the second BigDamnHeroes moment while flying away from [[spoiler: Salamence.]]

%%* There are people doing this for a living.
* Doing a barrel roll in a fighter, where maneuverability is an essential component of design, is not very exceptional in and of itself. Barrel-rolling a prototype four-engine commercial jet is something else entirely. While it was actually quite safe for the pilot and plane,[[note]]A maneuver perfected by British heavy bomber pilots in WWII which was later taught to Americans[[/note]] it was not something one sees on a regular basis. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_367-80#The_barrel_roll here]], on Website/TheOtherWiki, for details of pilot Tex Johnston's antics. Boeing President Bill Allen wasn't very happy about it -- but he wasn't in a position to complain, as the maneuver totally sold the plane and cemented Boeing as undisputed the market leader in jet airliners for the next 20 years.[[note]]At which point the Airbus A300 appeared on the scene in 1974, declaring Airbus' intention to seriously challenge the Boeing 7x7 family's dominance. Before then, some models kinda sorta challenged Boeing, but it was always clear they couldn't bring it to Boeing.[[/note]] This was a tremendous coup at a time Boeing had become practically a nonentity in the commercial piston-engine airliner market thanks to its previous focus on military contracts[[note]]Indeed, the Dash 80 was a huge gamble, intended to demonstrate both a new jet airliner and a new model for a military tanker aircraft. It worked, being developed into the Boeing 707 airliner and the KC-135 Stratotanker military air tanker.[[/note]]. It left a lasting impression. As late as 1994, a test pilot for the Boeing 777 said the last instructions he received before takeoff were "No rolls."

* Doing a barrel roll in a fighter, where maneuverability is an essential component of design, is not very exceptional in and of itself. Barrel-rolling a prototype four-engine commercial jet is something else entirely. While it was actually quite safe for the pilot and plane,[[note]]A maneuver perfected by British heavy bomber pilots in WWII which was later taught to Americans[[/note]] it was not something one sees on a regular basis. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_367-80#The_barrel_roll here]], on Wiki/TheOtherWiki, for details of pilot Tex Johnston's antics. Boeing President Bill Allen wasn't very happy about it -- but he wasn't in a position to complain, as the maneuver totally sold the plane and cemented Boeing as undisputed the market leader in jet airliners for the next 20 years.[[note]]At which point the Airbus A300 appeared on the scene in 1974, declaring Airbus' intention to seriously challenge the Boeing 7x7 family's dominance. Before then, some models kinda sorta challenged Boeing, but it was always clear they couldn't bring it to Boeing.[[/note]] This was a tremendous coup at a time Boeing had become practically a nonentity in the commercial piston-engine airliner market thanks to its previous focus on military contracts[[note]]Indeed, the Dash 80 was a huge gamble, intended to demonstrate both a new jet airliner and a new model for a military tanker aircraft. It worked, being developed into the Boeing 707 airliner and the KC-135 Stratotanker military air tanker.[[/note]]. It left a lasting impression. As late as 1994, a test pilot for the Boeing 777 said the last instructions he received before takeoff were "No rolls."

* There are people doing this for a living.

* Most fighters in VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}, both human and alien, can safely avoid missiles by rolling at the right moment.

* Roy Scheider's helicopter loop in ''Blue Thunder''.

* Creator/DerekRobinson's [=WW2=] set novel ''A Piece of Cake'' sees a new RAF pilot coming back to base, elated at having scored a possible german kill on his first flight, perfroming a barrel-roll at low level over the airfield. What he doesn't realise is that his Hurricane has taken damage in the air fight, and the stress of perfoming a stunting manouvre is too much for the airframe, which breaks up. He is too near to the ground to parachute to safety and both plane and pilot are destroyed in the ensuing crash.

* The political drama ''State of the Union'' has a wholly gratuitous sequence devoted to airplane stunts.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'''s main story arc involved CoolShip and its crew, thus there are several cards depicting airborne badassery. One involved using the ship's mirrored hull to deflect one baddie's [[FrickinLaserBeams beam]] onto other baddie.

So, you have this CoolShip, CoolPlane, Cool Whatever. So what to do with it? Sure, you can show it off and see how everyone turns green with envy, but the kind of stories frequented by Cool Means Of Travel usually requests you to use it a bit more actively. Like, engage in fighting and the stuff. At times, it's awesome enough when you [[BeamSpam open]] [[MacrossMissileMassacre fire]], at others... Not so much. So what should you do to meet the expectations of the audience?

The barrel roll itself is regularly confused with an aileron roll.[[labelnote:note]]An actual barrel roll is shown in the trope image, while an aileron roll describes an aircraft doing one full rotation on its roll axis (Z-axis from the vehicle's perspective).[[/labelnote]]

Compare SpectacularSpinning. When it includes tricking the opponent by use of terrain or rapid braking, it's WronskiFeint or DodgeByBraking. If involves missiles, often HighSpeedMissileDodge. Finally, if you're into suicidal attacks, then remember RammingAlwaysWorks.

->''"Do a Barrel Roll!"''

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', [[TheCaptain Murrue Ramius]] orders the ''Archangel'' to Do A Barrel Roll in order to destroy a battleship beneath them with their top-mounted beam cannons.

* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': In ''Shadow on the Sand'', when the flying ship ''Skyrider'' is boarded by Drakkarim, wizard captain Banedon calls out [[AttackPatternAlpha a maneuver code name]] for his Dwarven crew, and warns Lone Wolf to hang on something. Then he starts capsizing the ship to end up flying upside-down, sending the evil warriors plummeting to their death while the dwarves are hanging on to nets, gleefully shouting "Blood for Blood!" at their falling foes.

* In ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'', Vimes takes a FlashedBadgeHijack of a passing coach, and the coachman, without any prompting from Vimes, proceeds to use a number of cool maneuvers that he doesn't normally get to do, ending with Vimes himself performing a "smuggler's turn" (actually a handbrake turn). (Exactly how useful this is for smugglers is another question, since it leaves the coach facing in the opposite direction from the horses. But it looks cool.)

[[folder:Web Original]]

* The Pelican Dive from ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin''. It failed the first time Baloo tried it, but [[CrisisMakesPerfect he pulls it off once his life (and his pilot's license) was on the line]].

* Barrel roll is [[RuleOfAwesome one of the "clean" aerobatic maneuvres]], i.e. it can be performed with the turn and bank indicator, "the ball", centered. An ordinary roll or snap roll cannot.

*** In ''most'' planes, if you can do a Cobra it's because you have a thrust-to-weight ratio in excess of 1 and vectoring engines. Those two features, and the avionics to run them, combine to grant you a capability called "supermaneuverability", which basically means controlled airborne flight without conventional aerodynamic control. And then there's the Saab 35 Draken, because apparently the rules of physics don't apply if you're Swedish.

* Doing a barrel roll in a fighter, where maneuverability is an essential component of design, is not very exceptional in and of itself. Barrel-rolling a prototype four-engine commercial jet is something else entirely. While it was actually quite safe for the pilot and plane,[[note]]A manoevre perfected by British heavy bomber pilots in WW" which was later taught to Americans[[/note]] it was not something one sees on a regular basis. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_367-80#The_barrel_roll here]], on Wiki/TheOtherWiki, for details of pilot Tex Johnston's antics. Boeing President Bill Allen wasn't very happy about it--but he wasn't in a position to complain, as the maneuver totally sold the plane and cemented Boeing as undisputed the market leader in jet airliners for the next 20 years.[[note]]At which point the Airbus A300 appeared on the scene in 1974, declaring Aribus' intention to seriously challenge the Boeing 7x7 family's dominance. Before then, some models kinda sorta challenged Boeing, but it was always clear they couldn't bring it to Boeing.[[/note]] This was a tremendous coup at a time Boeing had become practically a nonentity in the commercial piston-engine airliner market thanks to its previous focus on military contracts[[note]]Indeed, the Dash 80 was a huge gamble, intended to demonstrate both a new jet airliner and a new model for a military tanker aircraft. It worked, being developed into the Boeing 707 airliner and the KC-135 Stratotanker military air tanker.[[/note]].
** It left a lasting impression. As late as 1994, a test pilot for the Boeing 777 said the last instructions he received before takeoff were "No rolls."

* An extreme version of the barrel roll, called the ''corkscrew'', was a heroic remedy for British heavy bombers trying to break out of searchlight coning or else to shake of a pursuing night fighter. This took a toll on pilot strength and could actually be dangerous for a four-engined bomber with a full load, but at night it tended to succeed in shaking off pursuit or breaking out of a revealing searchlight beam.
** Technically speaking, the ''corkscrew'' is NOT a barrel roll. It is the ''scissors'' maneuvre in three dimensions instead of two.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', [[TheCaptain Murrue Ramius]] orders the ''Archangel'' to DoABarrelRoll in order to destroy a battleship beneath them with their top-mounted beam cannons.

Compare EverythingsBetterWithSpinning. When it includes tricking the opponent by use of terrain or rapid braking, it's WronskiFeint or DodgeByBraking. If involves missiles, often HighSpeedMissileDodge. Finally, if you're into suicidal attacks, then remember RammingAlwaysWorks.

*** The space battle, where Anakin actually shouts out "I'll try spinning! [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning That's a good trick!"]] This makes more sense if you've read the book, in which the escape from Naboo is completed by spinning the ship, which disrupts the "pulsar tracking" the Trade Federation uses for its weapons.