Originally Posted by
thing
You've never flown a T21 then...
It's the 'Engine failure this is an emergency' mode that is the crux. It's not an emergency, it's an out of the normal situation that requires a field landing. If gliders land in fields because they have run out of sky why don't we call them forced landings? It's an aircraft, it's landing in a field, it's not where it intended to land. That's all.
.
I think you are giving an apples to oranges comparison.
Lets compare a gliding landing between your T 21 and a C 172
Best Glide C 172 65 kts T 21 37 kts
Min Sink C 172 600 ft Min, T 21 175 ft/min
So the T 21 pilot will have 3 1/2 times the amount of time to figure out his landing and will arrive with about 1/12 th energy to dissipate in the run out.
The T 21 has a landing skid and a low pressure tyre making an upset on landing much more unlikely than a C 172 with a tall tricycle gear and higher pressure tyres.
The bottom line is the glider is designed to land in any field the C 172 is not. " Field" landings were not a design consideration because it has an engine to get it to an airport. That is why "forced landings" is in the C 172 POH in the emergency section. not in the Normal operating section.
To say an engine failure in a C 172 is not an emergency is IMO irresponsible.
That being said, like all the other bad things that can happen, an engine failure can be managed to a successful conclusion, that is no gets hurt, if properly handled. This requires a disciplined approach to operating the aircraft and a personal commitment to attain and then maintain a sufficiently high skill level that all emergencies can be effectively dealt with.