Like Arrow2, I’ve done a lot of touring in an Arrow with some considerable distances x-water and mountainous terrain. Whilst I realise that engine doesn’t know whether it’s over water or not, I like to minimise the risks involved just in case things go wrong. IMHO, however, kitting yourself and your pax in immersion suits for what I assume is supposed to be a pleasure flight would be an uncomfortable (and expensive) business. If the water’s cold enough to justify the use of immersion suits, I stay over land or remain within the Arrow’s so-called gliding range.
If it came to a ditching situation, I’d be in my liferaft before thinking about how the aircraft floats!
Although primarily directed at sailors,
www.takacs98.freeserve.co.uk/page70.html offers some useful advice on how to survive an unplanned swim. I also understand that the RAF offers courses in Lossiemouth on ditching procedures and use of liferafts (getting into one is trickier than you may think).
Horsepower
[This message has been edited by Horsepower (edited 08 November 2000).]