On Mar 8, 4:07 pm, "Ken S. Tucker" wrote:
On Mar 8, 2:28 pm, WJRFlyBoy wrote:

On Fri, 7 Mar 2008 22:37:55 -0800 (PST), Ken S. Tucker wrote:
Every pilot is elated to ascend following rotation,
but what should you do if your engine sputters
and quits while climbing at just a few hundred feet.

Off hand I'd suggest pushing the yoke forward to
use decent to prevent stall, because the stall can
happen real fast in that attitude, so be prepared.
((Don't freeze like a deer in head lights)).

Glide back to the runway or have knowledge of a
safe alternative and use it.
Ken

Wow, Ken, even *I* know this is idiotic.

My thoughts a Given no good alternative aside
from the runway, know the x-wind at T-O, do max
ascent into the wind as is normal, then if the engine
quit's (do radio) do a descending gentle 20 into the
x-wind, and come back and set the ship down.
I think the key is max ascent rate, that's insurance.
Ken

So much nonsense. A 20 degree banked turn will make about a
half-mile diameter circle at glide speed. Since much more than 180
degrees of turn is needed (typical is the 90/270 turn, which adds up
to 360 degrees; trimming it some will bring it down to 300 degrees), a
half-mile diameter circle is a mile and a half around. 7500 feet to
travel just to turn around. At an optimistic 10:1 glide ratio, you'd
need 750 of altitude just for the turn. 172's, and many other
lightplanes, don't glide that well. The Grumman singles are notorious
sinkers. So are the short-wing Pipers.
So many have died doing this. As I said earlier, a controlled
collision is better than stalling and spinning, and stalling and
spinning is MUCH more likely in this situation.
You might get away with it over a long runway and at altitude.
You might get away with it in the crosswind in the circuit, since
you're already above 500' and turn the turn would be less. Off short
runways and at lower altitudes it's a waste of time. If there's much
of a tailwind, things could get ugly.

Dan