Glide approach to land technique
I am reading "The Skies the Limit - My flying Life" by former Wing Commander Eric Read AFC. I flew with Eric on several occasions when we were both at the DCA Flying Unit at Essendon in the 1960-70's. Part of the foreward of his book had this:
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE
HONOURS AND AWARDS
AIR FORCE CROSS
WING COMMANDER ERIC VERNON READ
CITATION: Promulgated in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 27 June 1946
As commanding Officer of No 200 Flight, Wing Commander Read has displayed exceptional skill, courage and devotion to duty. He has completed 254 hours flying on the secret and dangerous special missions carried out by the Unit, and his outstanding leadership has contributed considerably to the high standard of efficiency which it has attained.
The success of these missions has proved of the greatest value to the operations in the South-West Pacific area, and has contributed to their successful conclusion.
Group Captain V.E. Hanncock.
............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ................................
Eric Read joined the RAAF in 1935 and went solo in Tiger Moth A7-3 on 4 June 1935. He describes that flight thus:
"It was after I had resumed my flying training, when what can be called the ultimate aim of every budding young pilot came about, that is to be sent solo.This great event took place on the 4th of June 1935 when, after 45 minutes with Max ‘preening’ me, Squadron Leader Banting in A7-23, accompanied me whilst I demonstrated for 20 minutes how an aircraft should be flown! I did quite a good landing and with a few words of encouragement, he got out of the front cockpit, taking the joystick with him and I think muttering to himself, "Go and break your own bloody neck, your not breaking mine”
I taxied back, turned across wind, all clear, lined up and opened the throttle, eased it off and I was airborne. What a thrill, here I was all by myself, and I must admit the front seat looked awfully lonely without that head barking insults and instructions to me. I recall that when I was safely airborne I gave vent to my jubilation by yelling my head off, nothing in particular, but from the sheer joy of being up here alone on this memorable occasion. I was flying free, up with the birds (not away with them) sharing the domain that has been theirs for eons, with the sight of mother earth below me.
I carried out several medium and steep turns, throttled back and carried out gliding turns, “ah Read, your flying can be likened to the touch of a master and the caress of a mistress”! who's kidding who? Enough of this love talk, get this contraption back on the ground in the same condition as when you took it off, now concentrate ‘knuckle head’, and remember all that you have been taught.
Pick up the wind direction from the wind sock, and join the circuit on the down wind leg at about 1000 feet. Close the throttle and trim the aircraft for a gliding approach. Turn across wind and commence a series of ‘S’ turns, each turn bringing you lower down and closer in. Turn into wind, tending to overshoot, slip off any surplus height and land straight ahead."
In reading his description of his first solo I noted it was in a Tiger Moth using a glide approach which was the normal technique for landing in that type in those days. It was also the same technique taught by the RAAF and civilian aero clubs when I first learned to fly on Tiger Moths in 1951 and later as a QFI on the type. It was only on heavier aircraft like the Wirraway that powered approaches became the norm.
When Cessna 150/172 light singles came into the country, their manufacturer's POH stated "Normal landing approaches can be made with power-on or power-off with any flap setting."
Nowadays flying schools universally teach powered approaches as the preferred technique in this type or indeed other similar light singles. Glide approaches are relegated to practice forced landings only. Yet it is a fact glide approaches require more judgement that powered approaches and by the time a student is ready to fly solo in the training area for practice forced landings away from base, he would have already conducted many glide approaches before even first solo.
Why is it therefore that today glide approaches are not taught as the norm when they require superior skill and approach judgement than powered approaches? Disregarding the "S" turn technique used in Eric Read's training days of course it depends on the type of aircraft but in this discussion I am referring to the Cessna and Piper light training types or similar performance singles.