I seem to remember it's drummed into all RAF pilots at every stage of their training, from basic to advanced training on every type of aircraft:
Quote:
Never turn back
, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for everyone else.
I don't think that's necessarily true. If you're flying a Hawk or fast jet, it's possibly the best advice. If you're flying a Cub or similar with good slow-speed characteristics, I've been in several situations where landing straight ahead was not the best option. Being open to the conditions and geography of the day is a far better bet.
And no disrespect to your intellect, niknak, but if you're not a qualified pilot who has been the only one to make the decision in your flying, then your input is theoretical at best. Flying starts with the theory, but it's the actual practice of it that builds experience, the application of theory. And that's the biggest part of the learning.