V1 Decision Speed
Hi All
I had a good question asked by one of my students, and didn't know how to fully answer. Some research in the matter hasn't cleared things up either so perhaps you fellows can help me out.
The question goes something like this:
You have a light aircraft, taking off from a long dry runway, and the V1 is 120kts. Now you know, having flown the aircraft with a lot more weight, that the V1 at those higher weights is 140kts or so, sometimes more. Given the situation where you have a catastrophic engine failure with the lighter aircraft, at say 135kts, would you reject?
The obvious answer would be no, because then insurance wouldn't pay, and you better pray you don't have injuries or hull loss. However, it is technically possible, since the 120kt V1 is a minimum speed, to stop safely within the remaining runway. Would it be, to your best judgement, safer to reject, knowing full and well that the aircraft would stop safely within the runway?
Thank you for your answers in advance, I look forward to hearing your opinions on the matter.