Testing your glide. Are people doing this?

"Jay Honeck" writes:

Now that we monitor Unicom at all hours, I can tell you that it is
VERY rare to hear someone practicing any "engine out" procedures
over our airport. Even though we have a very active bunch of flight
instructors, we almost never hear anyone announce this extremely
important routine.

During my training (at controlled airport), a simulated engine failure
on base or final wouldn't generate any radio activity at all; a
simulated engine failure in the downwind would be preceeded by a call
to tower "request direct to threshold." It would be hard for someone
to know what we were practicing simply by monitoring the radio
traffic.

At the flying club where I trained, you cannot get cleared for first
solo by without first demonstrating a good command of engine-out
procedures in the circuit (there's a long checklist of items -- I
think it comes from Transport Canada). I had to demonstrate deadstick
landings from downwind and base again during training for my night
rating.


All the best,


David

During my training (at controlled airport), a simulated engine failure
on base or final wouldn't generate any radio activity at all; a
simulated engine failure in the downwind would be preceeded by a call
to tower "request direct to threshold."

Standard practice at an uncontrolled airport here in the U.S. is to announce
"Iowa City Traffic, Warrior 33431 is left downwind for RWY 25, Iowa City,
simulated emergency landing" -- or something to that effect.

I suppose, as with all radio usage, it's entirely optional to announce this
procedure at an uncontrolled airport. I, for one, however, appreciate
knowing when I'm sharing the pattern with someone who may be flying a
potentially unusual pattern.

I hear it announced this way often enough to presume that most people *do*
announce it -- although, of course, there is no way of knowing how many
"NORDO-simulated-engine-out" landings are made every day.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:QHumb.24708$Tr4.49542@attbi_s03...
| During my training (at controlled airport), a simulated engine failure
| on base or final wouldn't generate any radio activity at all; a
| simulated engine failure in the downwind would be preceeded by a call
| to tower "request direct to threshold."
|
| Standard practice at an uncontrolled airport here in the U.S. is to
announce
| "Iowa City Traffic, Warrior 33431 is left downwind for RWY 25, Iowa City,
| simulated emergency landing" -- or something to that effect.
|

I usually just announce that I am making a 'short approach.' There are
several reasons for making a short approach; engine out practice is just one
of them. I usually take students over to Shelton for engine out practice
because I often have the whole airport to myself.

When I was a student, if we were practicing engine outs in the pattern,
we simply called it a "short approach." There was no details about
whether or not it was for engine out simulation or otherwise. And I had
one instructor that actually liked to do them quite a bit - after all,
unlike on a runway, if you practice an engine out over fields, you can't
REALLY be sure whether you would have made it...

And admittedly, while I have practiced a few engine outs (in fact I did
one in cruise this past Wed. - but not at an airport), reading this
thread makes me realize that I probably don't practice my manuevers
nearly enough... And not just engine outs, but stalls, steep turns,
etc...

I second the motion to thank Montblack!


BTW: I'm sorry I didn't reply to your last message on our Newspaper
Memories thread... I was out of town (installing stacker controls,
actually) and when I came back, it got archived off by my news server,
which definitely doesn't keep messages long enough!

"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:4Wtmb.25865$HS4.93467@attbi_s01:

Folks should go out and practice this a bunch. Early in the morning
high above the airport, they should simulate a glide onto the runway,
to get a feel for the descent rate, speed, angle, etc. etc.

Now that we monitor Unicom at all hours, I can tell you that it is VERY
rare to hear someone practicing any "engine out" procedures over our
airport. Even though we have a very active bunch of flight instructors,
we almost never hear anyone announce this extremely important routine.

Now, perhaps they are taking students to a smaller, less busy airport
nearby -- but I doubt it. I think it's just one of those things that
new pilots do with their instructors over rural areas, and then rarely
practice again. And they almost never do it over an airport.

I know I haven't done the "engine out" routine for a looong time -- but
I plan to at our next opportunity. Thanks for the reminder, Montblack!

BTW: I'm sorry I didn't reply to your last message on our Newspaper
Memories thread... I was out of town (installing stacker controls,
actually) and when I came back, it got archived off by my news server,
which definitely doesn't keep messages long enough!

No problem! I had actually forgotten all about it. That's why I call
Usenet "Short Attention Span Theater"...

(Uh, what were we talking about again?? ;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in news:VUOmb.33298$Tr4.61576
@attbi_s03:
No problem! I had actually forgotten all about it. That's why I call
Usenet "Short Attention Span Theater"...

(Uh, what were we talking about again?? ;-)

Hahaha!

I forgot! Something about work!

Jay Honeck wrote:

Now that we monitor Unicom at all hours, I can tell you that it is VERY rare
to hear someone practicing any "engine out" procedures over our airport.

Nearly every "engine out" practice I've been handed was off-airport.

George Patterson
You can dress a hog in a tuxedo, but he still wants to roll in the mud.

G.R. Patterson III wrote:

Jay Honeck wrote:

Now that we monitor Unicom at all hours, I can tell you that it is VERY rare
to hear someone practicing any "engine out" procedures over our airport.


Nearly every "engine out" practice I've been handed was off-airport.

George Patterson
You can dress a hog in a tuxedo, but he still wants to roll in the mud.

When I was training for my private, I had the same experience as George.
Every "engine out" was off-airport. Additionally, the procedure was
always the same -- CFI pulled the throttle, said, "you've lost your
engine," and I went through the memorized engine out procedures.

Got to my checkride, and the DPE threw me for a loop (not literally),
first by by pulling the throttle *slightly* back and saying, "suddenly
you can only make 2000 rpm. What are you going to do?" It wasn't how I
trained, and I had to actually stop and think, and I nearly blew it.
Then he said, pulling the throttle back a little more, "you can only
make 1500 rpm."

By this time I had determined the nearest airport, and was heading for
it. He planned it that way, which was the second thing that was
different from my training. He liked to do engine outs where your best
bet was heading for an airport, and let you take it all the way down.

In my case, I was too high and fast. I would have made the runway, but
probably would have run off the end, so we went around. It would have
been a messy but survivable landing.

I passed the checkride, but a big hole in my training had been pointed
out to me. Later, I went to that same airport, which has almost no
traffic, and practiced all sorts of power off approaches to landing,
pulling the power off at various altitudes directly over the runway, at
various points in the pattern, and at various points and altitudes away
from the airport.

I learned a lot from that, but as a renter, not all of it carried over
to the other planes I flew.

--
David Hill
david at hillREMOVETHISfamily.org
Sautee-Nacoochee, GA, USA

I had a partial power failure during cruise climb once. It happens.

Here's another - complete power loss upon initial power reduction.
Insidious because you may not recognize it. This also happened
to me.

Here's another - partial power loss during initial climb. This also
happened. Three times.

Here's another - complete loss of oil on takeoff roll. This also
happened. Tower saved our can.

All different aircraft. All different reasons. One was a brand new
aircraft.

One resulted in landing off field - guess which one. Answer - where
the power failure was not recognized. Had to tow the plane back to
the airport with a car. You ever taxi a taildragger down a road on a rope
behind a car? Kind of fun.




In article , David Hill
wrote:
G.R. Patterson III wrote:

Jay Honeck wrote:

Now that we monitor Unicom at all hours, I can tell you that it is VERY rare
to hear someone practicing any "engine out" procedures over our airport.


Nearly every "engine out" practice I've been handed was off-airport.

George Patterson
You can dress a hog in a tuxedo, but he still wants to roll in the mud.

When I was training for my private, I had the same experience as George.
Every "engine out" was off-airport. Additionally, the procedure was
always the same -- CFI pulled the throttle, said, "you've lost your
engine," and I went through the memorized engine out procedures.

Got to my checkride, and the DPE threw me for a loop (not literally),
first by by pulling the throttle *slightly* back and saying, "suddenly
you can only make 2000 rpm. What are you going to do?" It wasn't how I
trained, and I had to actually stop and think, and I nearly blew it.
Then he said, pulling the throttle back a little more, "you can only
make 1500 rpm."

By this time I had determined the nearest airport, and was heading for
it. He planned it that way, which was the second thing that was
different from my training. He liked to do engine outs where your best
bet was heading for an airport, and let you take it all the way down.

In my case, I was too high and fast. I would have made the runway, but
probably would have run off the end, so we went around. It would have
been a messy but survivable landing.

I passed the checkride, but a big hole in my training had been pointed
out to me. Later, I went to that same airport, which has almost no
traffic, and practiced all sorts of power off approaches to landing,
pulling the power off at various altitudes directly over the runway, at
various points in the pattern, and at various points and altitudes away
from the airport.

I learned a lot from that, but as a renter, not all of it carried over
to the other planes I flew.

Most of mine have been, but on my GFT (General Flight Test)
the examiner pulled the power on me a couple of miles after
we'd passed by an airport. I actually landed it at the airport.

Paul

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
...
Nearly every "engine out" practice I've been handed was off-airport.