Hey Gang,
Notch Johnson here. I've been away the past few days, with my girl BJ, slipping her other things besides airplanes. She likes to slip out to the country and ride the baloney pony with me. Anyways, I'm back and I'm truly astounded at the response of this thread. Though I think it has more to do with my charming personality than anything else. Right? I didn't want to discuss the merits of a simple flight maneuver, but you are right...I don't own this thread. So forgive me. Ok then.
Here's an excellent question on reader’s minds, submitted by Mouse...
"For the benefit of my curiosity when would you envisage needing this particular 'trick'?"
Well readers here my short response….”When going around is not the BEST option”.
I can hear you all now...."GASP! Oh the Horror! Murmur! Are you mad, man! Going around is ALWAYS the best option!" I’m my opinion; this is not always the case. Let me explain. It seems to me, many of you may only be familiar with flying into “flat and rolly" places like LHR. You can be forgiven for holding the view that Going Around is always superior to slipping it in. However, let me take you into some of the "Salad Bowls of Terrain" in places like Central/South America and the Caribbean. These places are scary enough in the daytime; try a visit at night. Many of these places have some of the most complicated and insane "Missed Approach" procedures you could imagine. Their "Engine-Out Missed Approach" procedures are even worse! You look at them and you say ..."You've got to be joking me! Right!" It looks like they were developed to satisfy some legal requirement knowing full well that Chuck Yeager might not be able to pull it off.
Anyways, case in point. I'm flying into one of these "Salad Bowls". I see that I'm high by a couple of thousand feet. I'm fully configured at final approach speed. There's a tailwind. My ND shows RED terrain all quadrants. So now I ask myself these questions. Can I “S” turn or 360...Hell NO! Shall I Go-Around and take a chance flying one of these widow-maker missed approaches...It depends. OR, can I perform a simple Forward Slip and be stable by 1000 ft AGL? Yes, I can. I would submit to you, given these circumstances, a Forward Slip can be a BETTER option than a Go-Around. Unless you want to give me a GREEN cockpit and a set of Night Vision Goggles, I think this maneuver is a good one to have in your "Bag of Tricks".
Don't get me wrong. I prefer a straight in same as anybody else. But I don't wish to debate the merits of a maneuver that has served me well, 5 or 6 times over the course of my career. It’s safe, it’s approved by the FAA, and it works. When someone tells me it’s unsafe, I get pissed cause I think it can save your @$$. One of the things I learned early on is " The PK (probability of kill) of a mountain is 100%”. Now, if you don't think you have the skills to do one, then don't. However, if you can’t do one of these, I don’t think your chances are much better on a “Window-Maker”. Put it this way…a simple Forward Slip is better than the potential CLUSTER !!!! waiting for you in the dark. And I’ll damn-well do again if I have too.