On 2-Feb-2005, Aaron Coolidge wrote:

Kind of like the DC-9-10 series, eh? What, 5% of the DC-9-10 fleet crashed
on take off because of wing contamination?
Even more similar to the Fokker F-28 series, a similar size & weight
aircraft (well, compared to a DC-9, anyway). Crashes at Dryden and La
Guardia because of wing contamination. The Fokker report says that one 1mm
ice
particle per square centimeter of wing reduces lift coeficient by at least
22%.


This is one of the few safety advantages of light piston singles. When you
reach takeoff speed in a single, pull back, but the plane doesn't want to
fly for whatever reason, you will most often have ample runway left to abort
the takeoff (assuming a runway of 3500 ft or longer). And if you do run off
the end, it will be at low speed, so chances are there will be no injuries.
In a jet, once you exceed V1 on takeoff you are committed. Then if the
plane won't fly at Vr, due to wing contamination or some other cause, you
are screwed unless you are on an exceptionally long runway.
--
-Elliott Drucker