It Has Happened Again

Bob- Killed McCudden, too, in an SE-5a and he was a 54 victory ace.

 

I wonder if experience doesn't work against some higher-time pilots in that they "know" that - with a their engine operating as normal - managing energy in the turn wouldn't be difficult. I wonder if the extra drag and increasingly rapid rate of energy loss doesn't come as something of a surprise.

Commandment 1: KEEP THY AIRSPEED UP LEST THE EARTH COME FROM BELOW AND SMITE THEE

 

I try to make it a habit to look at a satellite image surrounding the departure end of the field to look for potential emergency landing spots. But sometimes I forget...

 

AOPA magazine had an article within the last 12 mos proposing that we turn 10-20 degrees in the direction of pattern after rotation so that the 'impossible turn' becomes a teardrop not a 360. Given the extreme conservatism of aviation and the requirement to fly runway heading anywhere towered it seemed like a nonstarter, but for a rural runway with light traffic: why not?

Edit: of course MY airplane gives me a helpful '600 feet' callout, letting me know I can now use the CAPs handle LOL

 

Takes Gs to make any turn and any non-powered turn loses airspeed unless you have a lot of altitude to trade off.

 

The point of the AOPA proposal is to get 20 degrees of your turn done while your motor is operating so if it fails you can continue a turn towards a runway having part of that turn already been completed as a matter of the new technique. Not sure I buy it. In the U.K. Hawks we practiced SFOs from departure leg very routinely...we knew exactly what altitude we needed to turn back. We practiced from that min altitude every time, including knocking the legs down on short final with the runway made. It was a hairy task every time. It never got boring in a jet that glides like a brick. For Joey Baggo'doughnaughts to do it for the first time during his first engine failure is likely a really bad idea. I'm all for a gentle energy conserving turn over the field before departing, and I do that just about every time in the T-28, local procedures permitting, so I cross the field at high key on nearly every departure. But it's all planned and practiced. I think telling guys to turn x degrees on departure leg "so you can make it back" is a set up for disaster.

 

Will- Affirmative, not much difference between 160 degrees and 180 degrees of turn. Just a little steeper angle of impact for the 180 degree turn.