Wed Nov 24, 2021 11:05 am
#1884384
1. Trim for best glide and turn towards your field.
“Always have a field in mind”, or at least somewhere where you have the best chance of not getting hurt.
When gliding for range, increase the speed if gliding into wind. You can reduce the speed when gliding downwind if you know the speed at which you have minimum sink.
Learning to glide is an asset in this situation.
If I remember correctly, we used 45 KIAS in a K13 for minimum sink, hope for a thermal... But when the field was made we increased to 55 KIAS for best penetration.
We always want good penetration!
In the old days, we were taught to turn downwind if we didn’t have a field in mind... I always try to have a field in mind, track it in my brain as the flight proceeds until the next opportunity arises.
If it’s a problem you might sort out, staying in the air is an advantage, so don’t hurry to the ground unless you are on fire.
Running put of fuel is often the cause, nothing more to be done.
A rough running engine might be rectified on one mag or applying the carburettor heat, opening the throttle, and leaning the mixture (unless it’s already a ‘lean cut’).
A broken engine is best shut down. A lost prop blade, or broken crankshaft will need a pitch up, off with the mags, slow down to stop the prop while reducing the g to avoid a stall. Sometimes we do the reverse of lowering the nose in order to keep the engine bolted to the airframe. The nose weight is useful in a glider. (Been there, done that!).
One thing I demonstrate and teach, is to do the reverse thing to your instinct when coming up short of your field, that is to lower the nose and speed up.
Three things.
1. This enables a controlled crash. Be in control through the crash rather than lose control in a stall.
2. You penetrate windshear sooner and end up gliding into a reduced headwind.
3. You may get into surface affect and this increases you float, hop the hedge and maybe you’re lucky.
What I find missing in instruction these days is the importance of “Point of zero movement”, that point that is not shifting in the windscreen, the aiming point and the reference point for your glide attitude.
MichaelP
Wandering the World