Engine failure turn back altitude

[slartibartfast]

Cheers JL. Noone has ever taken my aeronautical advice before, let alone someone I really respect.

 

My CFI turned the engine off in his J160 once, then handed it to me. I don't remember noticing much difference in descent rate, but I'm sure there is and that's a very good point JohnMcK. Probably more so in some planes than others too.

 

If I may venture another piece of advice, get a good CFI to give you a real engine out (off) practice all the way to landing. It is a highly valuable experience, not just to experience the different drag and descent rates JohnMcK pointed out, and to do a powerless landing, but also to experience the sudden silence. Unless you've flown gliders, the lack of noise and thrust may be a very rude shock. It is far better to get this shock over with in practice with a CFI than to add it to your rapidly growing list of shocks during a real emergency.

 

Not everyone will agree to do this, or that it should be done. It should only be done with a very competent CFI, in a position where it will quickly become apparent to him that you will make it, or that he can take over and reach the strip even if the engine doesn't restart.

 

What do you real pilots think of this bit of cheek?

 

Ross

 

 

[Guest Juliette Lima]

Hi Ross,

 

Thanks for your kind comment which I appreciate, however with just a few hundred hours in gliders and a similar amount in less than sophisticated ultralights, my aviation wisdom is somewhat limited....

 

I amaze at some of the talent that contributes to this site and particularly the consideration given by the more experienced to those odviously just spreading their wings.....really nice.

 

Reminds me of a story some time ago when flying gliders at Lake Keepit.....

 

On many occasions club members had mixed with and enjoyed the company of a quiet unassuming new chum who contributed willingly and did his share of flying.

 

We tended not to ask too many questions then, just took each other for granted.

 

One day when enjoying the delightful thermals, a rather friendly call came from a 747 flying overhead to 'any glider pilots flying Lake Keepit'....to our surprise, it was the new member we had all come to know and enjoy.....a couple of guys responded for a nice exchange.

 

Not quite sure what this has to do with EFATO other than to acknowledge once again the wealth of talent and knowledge available in these forums....it has certianly assisted me.....including your contributions Ross.

 

Cheers

 

JL

 

PS forget to mention the 747 transmission was from our member, the Captain

 

 

[Tony]

Learning on T500, 21 hours.

 

After performing take off and climbing to some certain point it is apparent to us the prospect of landing on the remaining runway straight ahead has no chance at that certain point - the turning point.

 

Therefore we turn away into the Circuit.

 

We initiate the turn BEFORE the EFATO, NOT AFTER, OK !?

 

We stay in the Circuit untill we get to 1000', thus TURNING around is increasing our good chances, then we leave our circuit and we look for a turf farm.:)

 

We stay away from Tiger countries, Bagdad and other bad places if we can.:pig:

 

One more again - no turn back for me !

 

For a miracle turn I need power - I don't have it.

 

With or WITHOUT power I must always fly the Thruster T500 at constant 50 Kts on that or any 'final' - no more, no less IAS.

 

Spending the remaining airplane energy on any type of turn back downwind will cause I WILL be too low and I will not make the distance.

 

(In my dreams: If I only have the power for the last 10 seconds BEFORE the EFATO, I double chandelle past the 'turning point'.

 

Or, a spare engine working for just 20 seconds after the EFATO, I double chandelle past the 'turning point'.

 

Instead of a ballistic parachute I need a kind of auxiliary rocket, hey, would it not be a good idea ?)

 

 

[Ross]

Hi JL

 

Your 747 experience reminds me of a similar episode at Leeton quite some years ago. I was assisting manning the club radio during a Gliding Competition probably a State Competition.

 

We were monitoring gliders flying in from surrounding clubs & towns like Forbes, Temora and Narromine.

 

Anyway one pilot had gone quiet on us and we were getting no response to our calls until a 707 I think flying overhead for Indonesia relayed a message from a Forbes based glider. It had out-landed just over the next hill putting him effectively out of range of our ground based radio.

 

I also saw another sailplane coming from the North East fly straight over the top of the airfield at about 5,000 feet. He probably went another fifteen miles or so over the irrigation farms before we got him to turn around.

 

He would have been flying into the late afternoon sun before his about turn!

 

Regards

 

 

[jetboy]

why i fly the bantam with the hand grenade motor

 

Can relate to the discussion and scenarios here, it happened to me with my first Bantam 3 hrs experience with it from purchasing in a used and disused state. I wrote this in the same form as "why I fly the HS Stork" seen elsewhere, to illustrate that things dont allways happen in the order you have trained for, low inertia craft dont glide nearly as good as the Cessnas I did the training in, and a couple of hundred feet is shaved off before you know what the problem is. Where the training proved useful is the automatic reaction to let the plane glide. I have since then also trialed full prop stopped landings and dont make an unecessary habbit of them because it does increase the risk of a serious outcome and none of the planes I've done that in behaved much differently than say 3 knots headwind / tailwind on the day would make.

 

For my current strip I am departing over water and mudflats so do a turn and climb along the shoreline till farmland is reached. any EFATO is going to be a ditching so keeping close to the circuit is the best option.

 

Ralph

 

Went across to bigger aifield than chookrun base need to practice forced landings real microlight pilots call them engineouts where theres better prospect of setting up glides plenty of room for variation I mean stuffups do circuits for a while so as not to bother the helicopter wait for him to clear off then climb out for 1500 feet overhead well make that 936 feet engine shaking ease back on throttle these 2 strokes sometimes do this no less throttle more shaking so full bore now motor wants to climb off the mounts back to idle now I can see the prop it doesnt usually do that now its 700 feet runway should be behind me need 270 turn need 55 maybe 60 mph feel like spider going down pughole runway in sight about 300 feet to go need 90 deg turn more corkscrewing about 100 feet to go Im a third in and downwind at 50mph jeez the ground comes fast no pissing about stick hard back this might hurt bounce off main gear check forward ease back running in ground effect now make normal landing well better than normal for a Bantam all wheels still attached arrange truck get outa here before the nitwits arrive