Originally Posted by
Pace
RatherBeFlying has a valid point re gliders versus power and their glide ratios compared to powered. Flying a brick and your options are more below you flying a glider further afield.
The brick will probably also have a much higher stall speed hence your speed into anything hard will be faster.
GPN01
To be clear that we are talking the same language are you saying that having selected your landing area that you commit to that landing area regardless of of how your flight profile changes or how the landing area changes?
Higher up the area may appear good but as you come lower not good.
Your profile might change not only through misjudgement but also through changing winds, shear etc.
You may be too low and undershoot your landing site but equally too high! meaning even with slip a faster approach speed, a late touchdown point and the possibility of departing your landing area at speed.
I cannot stress enough the dangers of fixation on one plan. In a PFL you should always have in mind the worst case and be constantly watching for other options if your main plan fails to work out.
Pace
I'm saying that as you get lower the number of options vailable to you decrease (irrespective of whether you're descending at 150' p.m. or 800' p.m., there's a point at which you're unlikely to be able to make it to an alternate). Strangely enough each year there's examples of crashes where people have committed to a field and then at the last minute change their mind because they've decided that another field 'looks better'. My feeling is that this is a high risk strategy because it's not a good idea to change your mind after a certain point unless you're sure that continuing with the original plan will definitely result in an accident.
I agree absolutely that you should have a plan that provides several options and you should keep reviewing the plan to make sure it remains the best choice. But once you're in the last few seconds of descent it's better to accept the choice and do your best to fly the airplane safely.