>So how does a pilot make a safe landing if he/she is flying one of those airplanes with a glide ratio of 3:1 and there are only tall trees and big rocks below, yet just a little further away is an airport that a light aircraft such as a Cessna 150 with a glide ratio of 8:1 would be able to glide to with altitude to spare?
Just exactly what magic or superman skills would this " safe " pilot have that would trump the ordinary pilot in the airplane that could glide to the airport?<
Chuck really dont want to get very involved in all this :-) so just a couple of warnings.
Realistically there is always a danger of trying to make a runway or distant place in any plane. Why ? because it focuses the mind on one point.
I was always taught in life to always have an "out" In a forced landing situation that to me means having a number of options and being able to take another option if you realise that one door or landing spot is not going to work for you.
There are many factors which will determine whether you get to a distant chosen landing site one being wind or groundspeed which can change on your way down. Flying in moving air we also have to consider rising or falling pockets of air and how that will effect your chosen profile.
The success of a forced landing will depend on skill and a certain amount of luck but also a quick mind in determining that something is not working and being able to change tack and take somewhere else which might mean a crosswind component or even tailwind.
Taking somewhere else might be somewhere which is not ideal and may take out a hedge or damage the undercarriage but at least you keep the thing flying to the ground.
A little tip worth trying for extending a glide very low level is to dip the nose to increase speed and get into ground effect. I can remember many moons ago being with an examiner in a forced practice landing. He told me that no way was i going to make the runway. I dipped the nose increased speed levelled in ground effect and we sailed along like a hovercraft to the runway. it does work why? havent a clue but worth trying in a practice situation.
:-) take care all
Pace