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Thread: PFL advice
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Old 3rd Dec 2019, 11:43
  #54 (permalink)  
Geriaviator
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Co. Down
Age: 82
Posts: 832
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This very interesting discussion will benefit any PPL. My flying days are long gone but I vividly remember enough to make one contribution, if I may: nothing can prepare you for the mental shock when the noisy lump out front suddenly goes silent and the aerofoil-shaped Finger of Doom points accusingly above the cowling.

You will go through the drills comprehensively discussed above but few have experienced the drag from a stationary prop and the resulting need to get the nose down immediately to maintain airspeed, even more as you turn around your chosen field. How often do witnesses say that they heard the engine stop, then the aircraft turned and dived into the ground?

The aircraft may require a steep descent to maintain control in the absence of propeller slipstream over the empennage, even steeper when turning finals, to the extent that one may fear diving into the ground. My ex-WW2 instructor would not let me solo the Tiger Moth until I could demonstrate an incipient spin and recovery at 500 ft. I learned later that one of his pupils had spun in on finals.

To the thread's excellent advice may I suggest that anyone will benefit from learning basic aerobatics. As my dear old chum Desmond told me, aerobatics give you the confidence to recognise and recover from abnormal situations -- and they're also great fun!

May our engine(s) always keep running.
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