jeb@eisx.UUCP (Jim Beckman) (09/18/84)
<>
This is the sequence of actions I was taught for dealing with an
engine failure:
1. Rule number one is, as always, FLY THE DAMN AIRPLANE!!!!!!!
2. Establish a glide at somewhere around minimum sink or best
glide angle (which of these is the better choice? Does it
matter a lot, since they are usually pretty close?)
3. Pick a place to put it down - assume that the engine won't
start again. Turning back to the runway is an acceptable
choice if altitude is CLEARLY ADEQUATE.
4. Finally, if everything else is under control, run through
a restart try - check fuel selector, carb heat, mixture,
magneto switch, etc.
I was severely criticized by an instructor during a biennial for
reversing steps 3 and 4. If you try step 4 first and it fails,
you may have run out of time for step 3. This sequence applies
to power planes at any altitude, including takeoff.
In gliders, the analogous situation is a towrope break, particularly
during the early part of the tow, or any problem that affects the
towplane. In any situation where the towpilot has a loss of power
or any other engine problem, they will wave the glider off, and then
drop the rope, since the glider is always better equiped to deal with
the emergency than the power plane.
My experience in gliders includes a rope break (real, not simulated)
at about the worst possible time. I was in a 2-33 being towed out
of Somerset AP when the rope broke. We were about 75 feet above the
ground, at the end of the runway, and had turned nearly 90 degrees
to the right, to avoid the power traffic. My first reaction was to
wonder if something had gone wrong with the towplane to make the
pilot drop the rope. Then I realized that he was going to have
to take care of his problem while I took care of my own. At any
glider field, all pilots should know about emergency landing areas
in the immediate vicinity. We were right at the edge of one, (a
hay field) so I made a heading correction of about 20 degrees to
line up with the wind as best I could, pulled out all the dive
brakes, and landed in the exact middle of the field. No sweat,
no damage, the towplane had a new rope and was pulling the next
ship out in about ten minutes. The 2-33's total flight time from
start of roll to full stop was probably about 30 seconds. It took
us an hour and a half to get it back onto the airport.
Jim Beckman AT&T-ISL, South Plainfield, NJ eisx!jeb