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Old 16th Jan 2012, 15:56
  #46 (permalink)  
BackPacker
 
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I think it is also important to point out that a uniform 9 Gee de-acceleration from 60 to 0 knots requires a ground run of about 25 feet or one fuselage length.
True, but you also need to consider that the aircraft brakes are NOT capable of supplying a 9G deceleration. If you want to stop the aircraft within one fuselage length, and live to tell the tale, you need something external to the aircraft to slow it down uniformly. The military does this with arrestor cables on aircraft carriers, but somehow I don't think that's an option in an EFATO scenario.

So if you are going to hit a concrete wall, it really doesn't matter how long the ground run preceding that hit is. Yes, if your ground run before hitting the concrete wall is one fuselage length, the *average* G force will be 9G or thereabouts: One fuselage length of almost zero G (horizontal deceleration), followed by one engine cowling length of 25+ G. Unfortunately your body is not going to care for the average G, but for the peak G.

You need to turn the reasoning around: If you have no place to go that resembles a runway or field, try to find something that gives you the most uniform deceleration along whatever your (crash) landing run is going to be. Wherever that may be. And if you can find something that is able to decelerate your aircraft more-or-less uniformly to a full stop over the length of at least one fuselage, you probably will not be killed by the horizontal deceleration.

As far as the rest of your post is concerned, I agree 100%.

Last edited by BackPacker; 16th Jan 2012 at 16:40.
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