FWIW, I sat down and had a discussion with a couple old-timers and
instructors about this very subject at my club the other night.

They're point of view, which is so painfully simple I can't believe I
didn't see it myself...

"If the Engine fails, just Fly Vg".

Basically, they're whole point was the best way you make sure that you
never have to make the 'choice' to try to push a glide to the field is
simply to take that out of consideration in engine out situations. Fly
Vg from the moment the engine cuts to the moment you begin your
round-out... land wherever that puts you.

The only kink in the armor is - if you're lined up on final for a
runway and you're greater than 250 + your 360 sink altitude, do a 360.
If below that mark, use the flaps, or slip if necessary to bleed off
energy and not overshoot the runway, but whatever you do, Do not
deviate from Vg.

Similarly, if you're low... fly Vg. Keep Vg up as long as you can
(flaps retracted, of course). If you hit 10 feet above the ground and
you're not at the runway, go ahead and flare, you're not going to make
it...

This is probably a 'duh' to anyone on here but I figured it was
worth mentioning anyways.



On Nov 7, 5:12 pm, "Kyle Boatright" wrote:
A Lancair was involved in a fatal accident near Dalton, GA yesterday. It
crashed in the median of a divided 4 lane highway. The airplane had engine
problems and had time to radio distress calls. Depending on the news source,
it appears that there might have been as much as 10 to 20 minutes between
the first distress call and the crash. One story indicated that the
aircraft crashed almost 10 minutes after emergency crews had been notified
of a plane in distress.

Apparently the pilot was trying to reach the Dalton airport, which was about
3 miles from the crash scene. The airplane didn't make the airport and the
pilot was almost certainly trying to land on the road. Having seen pictures
of the aftermath, it appears that the aircraft was not under control when it
hit the ground. Perhaps the pilot stalled trying to avoid landing in traffic
(this is a busy road), clipped a utility wire, or lost control trying to
avoid wires.

Plane crashes in north Georgia, kills 1 - Examiner.com

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/sha...ing/entries/20...
(may require registration)

Anyway, the point that this accident brings home is that unless you have the
opportunity to land on a road that is free of vehicular traffic and which
you know to be free of utility wires, land the airplane in a field if you
have the chance. Even more important is that you need to fly the airplane
all the way to the ground and touch down as slowly as possible. Losing
control at 50' almost guarantees a bad outcome.

I fly over the crash area all the time and can tell you that there is a fair
amount of open land nearby. That pasture (or whatever) may not look as
airplane friendly as a paved road, but for a deadstick pilot a road is like
a sucker hole for a VFR pilot. It can be a killer when something that looked
good from afar goes to you-know-what when you get a look at it up close and
personal.

KB