Tim Taylor wrote:


The situation: You are 70 miles from home over unfamiliar territory
(read not sure of exact elevation of the terrain below, your altimeter
is useless now). You have gone for a Cu over a dry lake bed and it
doesn't work. You have selected a landing site in the lake bed that
is about 350 feet long and 100 feet wide that looks safe to land.
There are tree stumps and other object in other parts of the lakebed.
There are no obstructions on the ends of the site so you can do a
normal approach. The winds are 15 to 20mph out of the south so you
are landing from the north to south. As you drop lower you make a
rectangular pattern over the site checking for any missed obstacles.
The downwind is fast with the tailwind, as you turn base you estimate
you are 400 feet. Your adrenaline is pumping as you prepare for a
fairly technical landing. You want to keep it close so that you don't
end up short back into the wind and you turn base a little too soon.
You are on short final about 350 feet, but about 100 feet over full
spoilers decent. What do you do?


Tim,

We've already screwed up a bunch of things to get ourselves here, but
then we may do that from time to time, so:

S-turns.

In this situation I want more time: to achieve the necessary descent
while flying the ship in the way I most frequently fly it--this is not
the time for something completely different--even though I can
_probably_ do a "360" from that height with a "clean" wing. _Know_ what
your configuration is. Gear? Spoilers? If there is any cross-wind, turn
into the wind initially, using anything from a 45 to 120 degree turn
depending on conditions, but I'll be more comfortable with 60 to 80
degrees; keep the touchdown area in sight; control speed carefully; do
not hurry the process; continually assess drift, obstructions, and
condition of roll-out space as your vantage point changes while crossing
the extended runway centerline.

Do not continue maneuvering below a safe altitude. The last 100 feet
should look as normal as any you've ever done. If not you've been in too
much of a hurry to get to the runway. Just relax and fly around until
you get to where everything looks about right again--really, thats what
we always do, isn't it? That's why we must be able fly the pattern very
comfortably without reference to the altimeter.

When airliners need more spacing on final approach, something similar to
this method is surprisingly effective without disturbing the customers
too much.

One more note: if every approach we fly at our home field looks just the
same as every other one, we may not be learning enough. Mix it up a
little. Where I fly that's rarely a problem, though, and I think that's
good for us in the long run.


Jack