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Old 18th January 2009 | 05:46
  #760 (permalink)  
Wiley
 
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,450
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Obie, you must be a VERY slow typist. From 3200' to touchdown? Take a look at the time line. I haven't, but I'd be guessing something in excess of three minutes, particularly if he had a bit of 'zoom' potential from 250k back to his green dot speed.

Believe me, as someone who's been in a similar situation, (with a far messier result), I can attest that for the crew, in some ways it would have felt like three seconds - and in others, (the not helpful ways), three hours.

No one's saying the crew planned a down current landing, just that those precious fewer knots between the aircraft and the water on alighting might have made a difference in how the airframe handled the impact. Any bike rider will understand what I mean - try riding without goggles at 80mph and then 90. The difference in the wind force is very significant. In an immediate forced landing, you're stuck with your Mass; but any decrease in the 'V', (thanks to the Vsquared), can make quite a difference in the ergs you need to dissipate. As I mentioned above, General Spurance stressed this point with some passion in his presentation.
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