I agree with you that 50 kts is too slow (the OP said he went that
slow sometimes between thermals, and slowed "waaay down" if there were
no landable fields). I also agree that one shouldn't give up, and keep
on making forward progress while searching for lift (I learned that
lesson the hard way, on several occasions).

I fly with a friend who has an ASW-27B, and he does tend to go faster
than I when we're in trouble. He explains it as "the ship just doesn't
like to go slow". It may be that I'm being too conservative - and
since you (and he) have a whole lot more experience than I, perhaps
this is another lesson I should take to heart...

-John


On Jul 5, 8:12 pm, Andy wrote:
Fair point.

I fly an ASW-27B in the west today, but much of my early career
(1974-85) was flying in the mid-atlantic and northeast.

I agree that if you are flying in 1-2 knot lift in the east you will
cruise slower than for 4-5 knots in the west - for a whole bunch of
reasons. That said, I don't think you gain much flying best L/D (in
my ship at least) versus Mc=1.0. Two points on L/D just isn't worth
the speed loss. And if I'm not mistaken, part of the question was
about flying even slower than best L/D (50 kts was mentioned). I've
come to believe that how you handle "survival mode" is key to doing
well on sketchy days. Part of that is not giving up - keep making
forward progress while you search for the best available lift.