Struggling with PFLs
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Struggling with PFLs
PFL seems to be my one major stumbling block and I can't seem to get any better at them. I would appreciate some help and tips on what I could do to make it a little easier, and more structured. Assuming I am at 2500ft above ground level, the things I am struggling with are:
- How do I know if the field is within an accessible and convenient distance?
- My local area has more square fields than rectangular ones, is it okay to choose a square field?
- Should I always choose a field on my left hand side?
- How do I just what distance to keep from the field at certain heights?
Any help for this noob would be much appreciated.
- How do I know if the field is within an accessible and convenient distance?
- My local area has more square fields than rectangular ones, is it okay to choose a square field?
- Should I always choose a field on my left hand side?
- How do I just what distance to keep from the field at certain heights?
Any help for this noob would be much appreciated.
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How are your glide approaches?
If you have trouble with them then thats the place to start....
If you are ok with them then find a quiet airfield and do PFLs to the runway, after that then picking fields is not so much of a problem.
If you have trouble with them then thats the place to start....
If you are ok with them then find a quiet airfield and do PFLs to the runway, after that then picking fields is not so much of a problem.
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What answers did your instructor give to those questions when you asked them?
Good explanation given here and the pages it links through to:
Gremline Flight Safety Digest: Forced Landings in Light Aircraft
I think it answers all your questions.
My tip? Practice, practice, practice...
Good explanation given here and the pages it links through to:
Gremline Flight Safety Digest: Forced Landings in Light Aircraft
I think it answers all your questions.
My tip? Practice, practice, practice...
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Hi Emkay - i didnt really suffer any issues but have only newly passed. Whenever on a dual somewhere, the end of a lesson we would do a quick pfl, last few outings was pfl onto the field so it helped a lot.
it really is practice. The airforce use a different approach to what your taught in a local flyinh school, pick your field and keep that field at a 45 degree angle on the tip of your left wing - hard to explain in detail on here but worked for me - if your too close you base turn will be too tight and if its too far out, your base angle is far too wide.
also, sounds like your looking for the perfect fied, if its wide and square and ther eis no perfect option, land diagonally if you need to etc..
hope that helps, am sure lots of others will contribute also.
regards
Tris
it really is practice. The airforce use a different approach to what your taught in a local flyinh school, pick your field and keep that field at a 45 degree angle on the tip of your left wing - hard to explain in detail on here but worked for me - if your too close you base turn will be too tight and if its too far out, your base angle is far too wide.
also, sounds like your looking for the perfect fied, if its wide and square and ther eis no perfect option, land diagonally if you need to etc..
hope that helps, am sure lots of others will contribute also.
regards
Tris
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I was regularly told off for wasting time and height trying to pick a field where the aircraft could be easily recovered or flown back out of. It overcomplicated the process that, in simple terms, is primarily to save your life. Once I concentrated on saving myself and stopped worrying about breaking the aeroplane, PFLs suddenly became much easier and less stressful. Just my own experience, for what it's worth and probably not relevant to your own difficulty.
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Practice is the best advice really.
2500' gives loads of time .... but that's easy to say when you've been flying a while and a lot of the workload is instinctive (hence practice).
My advice then ... Fly the aeroplane first .... I know here you are wanting to impress your instructor / examiner, but in real life when it happens it is the best advice over all else, so I will say it again ... FLY THE AEROPLANE!
After that
1. Always try to be aware of wind direction and turn downwind straight away to give yourself more time unless there's a stonking great obvious field ahead.
2. Use something like a 45 degree angle sight line to the ground as a rough guide in most light aircraft for glide angle. They will usually do much better but it gives a good safety margin.
3. Field selection is again something to practice, but in reality the most important thing for life preservation is to watch out for powerlines, drainage ditches and standing crops. Size, livestock, proximity to a road ect are all nice but not as important. When I flew gliders I'd think about all those things, but in a powered aircraft with an engine failure or in test scenario the most important thing is to select a field where you could land and walk away from the aeroplane even if it hits the far hedge at low speed because it was a bit shorter than ideal.
Most instructors are looking for decisiveness, conviction and safe handling. Half the time you will get to a ridiculously high point and they will say "fine, you'd have made it. Climb away" ....
SS
2500' gives loads of time .... but that's easy to say when you've been flying a while and a lot of the workload is instinctive (hence practice).
My advice then ... Fly the aeroplane first .... I know here you are wanting to impress your instructor / examiner, but in real life when it happens it is the best advice over all else, so I will say it again ... FLY THE AEROPLANE!
After that
1. Always try to be aware of wind direction and turn downwind straight away to give yourself more time unless there's a stonking great obvious field ahead.
2. Use something like a 45 degree angle sight line to the ground as a rough guide in most light aircraft for glide angle. They will usually do much better but it gives a good safety margin.
3. Field selection is again something to practice, but in reality the most important thing for life preservation is to watch out for powerlines, drainage ditches and standing crops. Size, livestock, proximity to a road ect are all nice but not as important. When I flew gliders I'd think about all those things, but in a powered aircraft with an engine failure or in test scenario the most important thing is to select a field where you could land and walk away from the aeroplane even if it hits the far hedge at low speed because it was a bit shorter than ideal.
Most instructors are looking for decisiveness, conviction and safe handling. Half the time you will get to a ridiculously high point and they will say "fine, you'd have made it. Climb away" ....
SS
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Should I always choose a field on my left hand side?
To the extent that once, on the throttle being pulled, I said "jolly good, I'm going for that (dead) runway" which was just to the left. The instructor hadn't seen it!!! - and made me pretend it wasn't there and pick somewhere else.
(All of which gamesmanship assumes you're trying to learn to pass the test of course. Different considerations apply if you're wanting to learn how to stay alive, but looking out of the right hand window as well is always worth trying. You might be somewhere where there's nothing but rocks and trees and water out of the left window.)
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1. your selected field(s) are no further out than your wing tip
2. yes
3. no.....whichever side you choose, keep the field in permanent view
4. get you FI to show you PFLs from various altitudes to demonstrate the skills in judging the distances, descents, flap use etc.
It's not a science as you're discovering, so practice variables and be positive in your decision making and flying. Talk out loud your actions with your FI sat alongside.
Watch out for farmers.........
2. yes
3. no.....whichever side you choose, keep the field in permanent view
4. get you FI to show you PFLs from various altitudes to demonstrate the skills in judging the distances, descents, flap use etc.
It's not a science as you're discovering, so practice variables and be positive in your decision making and flying. Talk out loud your actions with your FI sat alongside.
Watch out for farmers.........
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As said, it really should be your instructor you go to for this and I am reluctant to give advice as I possibly teach differently on PFLs, but some that should be good for all:-
If in a low wing, a circle drawn through a line 1/2 way along the wing should give you reachable fields, otherwise, as SS says, a 45 downline, this will vary between aircraft so learn what is right for the one you are flying.
Square fields are actually better than long thin ones - a long thin one you can only land in the one direction - a square one you can cut the corner or extend base if you are low or high, then land at an angle.
Fields on the left are better as they are easier to keep in sight, but if you have a good field on the right and rubbish on the left, go for the one on the right.
Do not get low - there are LOADS of ways of losing height - "S" turns, Sideslip, rudder kicks, but virtually NO ways of getting height back without a engine!
If in a low wing, a circle drawn through a line 1/2 way along the wing should give you reachable fields, otherwise, as SS says, a 45 downline, this will vary between aircraft so learn what is right for the one you are flying.
Square fields are actually better than long thin ones - a long thin one you can only land in the one direction - a square one you can cut the corner or extend base if you are low or high, then land at an angle.
Fields on the left are better as they are easier to keep in sight, but if you have a good field on the right and rubbish on the left, go for the one on the right.
Do not get low - there are LOADS of ways of losing height - "S" turns, Sideslip, rudder kicks, but virtually NO ways of getting height back without a engine!
Some instructors insist that you fly a circuit. Do what keeps your instructor happy. Once you have a PPL, get practice with farm strips, for nearest to real situation.
The point of teaching the PFL is so that if you have an engine failure for real you can deal with it.
Some things to think about in keeping the PFL exercise in perspective
1) 80 % of all engine failures are caused by the pilot with carb ice and fuel mismanagement/fuel exhaustion the biggest percentage. The best way to deal with engine failures is to not let the engine fail in the first place.
2) When the engine has failed the insurance company has just bought the airplane. What it looks like after it has come to a stop is absolutely irelevant. What matters is nobody is hurt. Don't think of a PFL as a landing, think of it leading to a controlled crash
3) A steady 9 Gee deacceleration from 60 to 0 kts takes a ground run of 25 feet or one airplane length. Surviving the engine failure means avoiding the sudden stop caused by hitting an immovable object at flying speed. If the airplane hits approximately wings level and in a level flight attitude with a room for a bit of a ground run you will be OK. The take away is the field selection doesn't matter a whole lot. Making you selected touchdown point in control is what matters. Going immediately for the crap field that is close and has good approaches is way better than wasting time trying to find the perfect field.
4) The PFL exercise starts with a sudden and total engine failure. In the real world having a perfectly run engine suddenly totally stop without warning is the least likely scenario. You are much more likely to either have a rough running engine or a partial power loss or some warning the engine will fail soon if you are paying attention
5) If the engine stops as soon as you have set the glide attitude and pointed the airplane at a crashable surface, you should try to get the engine going again as there is a significant possibility that you were the reason it stopped. This means learning and practicing an effective airplane specific "cause check" drill that will restore power. For example for the Pa28 it would carb heat on, boost pump on, change tanks , Mags checked. You should be able to do this without thinking in less than 5 seconds.
6) If you are really stuck with no power getting to your chosen touchdown spot boils down to seeing the desired flight path from where you are now to where you are going and being able to assess whether you are above or below that path and effectively correcting. The best way to learn that is to whenever possible do a gliding approach to land, ideally by closing the throttle on late downwind. Often you can't do that but what you can do is fly level on final until you think you have the field made and then close the throttle. What you want to build is your ability to see the gliding flight path and as a side benefit it will improve you landings
Some things to think about in keeping the PFL exercise in perspective
1) 80 % of all engine failures are caused by the pilot with carb ice and fuel mismanagement/fuel exhaustion the biggest percentage. The best way to deal with engine failures is to not let the engine fail in the first place.
2) When the engine has failed the insurance company has just bought the airplane. What it looks like after it has come to a stop is absolutely irelevant. What matters is nobody is hurt. Don't think of a PFL as a landing, think of it leading to a controlled crash
3) A steady 9 Gee deacceleration from 60 to 0 kts takes a ground run of 25 feet or one airplane length. Surviving the engine failure means avoiding the sudden stop caused by hitting an immovable object at flying speed. If the airplane hits approximately wings level and in a level flight attitude with a room for a bit of a ground run you will be OK. The take away is the field selection doesn't matter a whole lot. Making you selected touchdown point in control is what matters. Going immediately for the crap field that is close and has good approaches is way better than wasting time trying to find the perfect field.
4) The PFL exercise starts with a sudden and total engine failure. In the real world having a perfectly run engine suddenly totally stop without warning is the least likely scenario. You are much more likely to either have a rough running engine or a partial power loss or some warning the engine will fail soon if you are paying attention
5) If the engine stops as soon as you have set the glide attitude and pointed the airplane at a crashable surface, you should try to get the engine going again as there is a significant possibility that you were the reason it stopped. This means learning and practicing an effective airplane specific "cause check" drill that will restore power. For example for the Pa28 it would carb heat on, boost pump on, change tanks , Mags checked. You should be able to do this without thinking in less than 5 seconds.
6) If you are really stuck with no power getting to your chosen touchdown spot boils down to seeing the desired flight path from where you are now to where you are going and being able to assess whether you are above or below that path and effectively correcting. The best way to learn that is to whenever possible do a gliding approach to land, ideally by closing the throttle on late downwind. Often you can't do that but what you can do is fly level on final until you think you have the field made and then close the throttle. What you want to build is your ability to see the gliding flight path and as a side benefit it will improve you landings
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BPF: 
I would expand a bit on point 6, and really break it down into two things:
a. Visualizing a path to a field that is the aircraft is actually capable of flying (gliding).
b. Maintaining that path at more or less the proper glide speed and glide angle, so that you arrive at the touchdown point with the proper speed.
a. is something you can only judge from experience. Do lots of glide approaches and PFLs and you will know what the aircraft is capable of. The reason a lot of instructors teach you to fly an abbreviated circuit is to make it easier to visualize a feasible flight path. That's a good start but by no means the only solution. (And the second reason is that lots of engine failures actually happen in the circuit due to pilot (in)actions, or because of latent failures becoming apparent after a power/configuration change.)
b. is only possible if you trim for more or less the proper glide speed almost immediately, and if your actual glide path to achieve a. is a bit above the "best glide" path that the aircraft is capable of. You then maintain the visualized glide path by carefully and continuously getting rid of excess energy. Which is done by deploying flaps, doing S-turns, sideslipping, or a combination of these. If you are not proficient in judging when and how to apply flaps, S-turns or sideslips to achieve a certain desired glide path you'll never make it to your chosen touchdown point at the proper speed.
I would expand a bit on point 6, and really break it down into two things:
a. Visualizing a path to a field that is the aircraft is actually capable of flying (gliding).
b. Maintaining that path at more or less the proper glide speed and glide angle, so that you arrive at the touchdown point with the proper speed.
a. is something you can only judge from experience. Do lots of glide approaches and PFLs and you will know what the aircraft is capable of. The reason a lot of instructors teach you to fly an abbreviated circuit is to make it easier to visualize a feasible flight path. That's a good start but by no means the only solution. (And the second reason is that lots of engine failures actually happen in the circuit due to pilot (in)actions, or because of latent failures becoming apparent after a power/configuration change.)
b. is only possible if you trim for more or less the proper glide speed almost immediately, and if your actual glide path to achieve a. is a bit above the "best glide" path that the aircraft is capable of. You then maintain the visualized glide path by carefully and continuously getting rid of excess energy. Which is done by deploying flaps, doing S-turns, sideslipping, or a combination of these. If you are not proficient in judging when and how to apply flaps, S-turns or sideslips to achieve a certain desired glide path you'll never make it to your chosen touchdown point at the proper speed.
The point of teaching the PFL is so that if you have an engine failure for real you can deal with it.
Some things to think about in keeping the PFL exercise in perspective
1) 80 % of all engine failures are caused by the pilot with carb ice and fuel mismanagement/fuel exhaustion the biggest percentage. The best way to deal with engine failures is to not let the engine fail in the first place.
Some things to think about in keeping the PFL exercise in perspective
1) 80 % of all engine failures are caused by the pilot with carb ice and fuel mismanagement/fuel exhaustion the biggest percentage. The best way to deal with engine failures is to not let the engine fail in the first place.
2) When the engine has failed the insurance company has just bought the airplane. What it looks like after it has come to a stop is absolutely irelevant. What matters is nobody is hurt. Don't think of a PFL as a landing, think of it leading to a controlled crash
So I'm afraid that I just don't agree with this oft-repeated "insurance company" argument. My backside is strapped into the aeroplane, and the better condition the aeroplane stays in, the better condition my backside is likely to remain also.
3) A steady 9 Gee deacceleration from 60 to 0 kts takes a ground run of 25 feet or one airplane length. Surviving the engine failure means avoiding the sudden stop caused by hitting an immovable object at flying speed. If the airplane hits approximately wings level and in a level flight attitude with a room for a bit of a ground run you will be OK. The take away is the field selection doesn't matter a whole lot. Making you selected touchdown point in control is what matters. Going immediately for the crap field that is close and has good approaches is way better than wasting time trying to find the perfect field.
4) The PFL exercise starts with a sudden and total engine failure. In the real world having a perfectly run engine suddenly totally stop without warning is the least likely scenario. You are much more likely to either have a rough running engine or a partial power loss or some warning the engine will fail soon if you are paying attention
I've had rough running engines and cleared it (for example because I'd got myself into carb icing), or landed off a partial failure / rough running. But I've had several sudden stoppages - on the other hand all but one of those (the blocked fuel filter) were quickly restartable. Which emphasises how important it is after a real or simulated engine failure to go through restart drills, which brings me to...
5) If the engine stops as soon as you have set the glide attitude and pointed the airplane at a crashable surface, you should try to get the engine going again as there is a significant possibility that you were the reason it stopped.
This means learning and practicing an effective airplane specific "cause check" drill that will restore power. For example for the Pa28 it would carb heat on, boost pump on, change tanks , Mags checked. You should be able to do this without thinking in less than 5 seconds.
6) If you are really stuck with no power getting to your chosen touchdown spot boils down to seeing the desired flight path from where you are now to where you are going and being able to assess whether you are above or below that path and effectively correcting. The best way to learn that is to whenever possible do a gliding approach to land, ideally by closing the throttle on late downwind. Often you can't do that but what you can do is fly level on final until you think you have the field made and then close the throttle. What you want to build is your ability to see the gliding flight path and as a side benefit it will improve you landings
G
G of E
The 80 % figure came from looking at accident reports. At least 80 % all of the engine failures involved causes that were in the control of the pilot.
How many of your engine failures were in simple certified Continental/lycoming engines ?
The OP was talking about the PPL(A) training which by definition will be in a certified aircraft of which the majority are going to be powered by the most reliable engines ever made the Continental O 200 or the Lycoming 0 320.
Now if you are flying around in 2 stroke Rotax powered airplanes then you has better always be in gliding distance of a landable field as it is almost certain it will fail, one of the reasons why I won't fly that class of aircraft.
I think it is vital that flight training teaches real world risk appreciation. If you start you flight in your Cessna/Piper with sufficient uncontaminated fuel selected to the right tank, the aircraft had a normal runup, smoothly made full takeoff power and had normal in flight engine gauge indications; and you had an accident it almost certainly will not because the engine suddenly and without warning failed.
Your accident will probably involve loosing control of yoru aircraft during takeoff or landing or getting lost and running out of fuel or flying into IMC conditions and losing control.
So IMHO the way flight training teaches the PFL is an example where a disproportionate amount of time is spent on a scenario that almost never happens and not enough on ones that actually do. I was doing some training for a CPL student (not mine) the other day. The exercise was a PFL. Instead of pulling the throttle to idle I reduced the power by 300 RPM when the student wasn't looking. No response by the student so I reduced the power by another 300 RPM. The students response was "what happening" to which I said " you tell me" . All I got was a deer in the headlights look. So I said "have we had an engine failure? " Umm maybe ????
Bottom line was the student was mad at me because he said I tricked him. He went on to say in a PFL the instructor is supposed to close the throttle because that was what was on the flight test.
The AHH HAH moment for me was early in my instructor career. A student at out school crashed a C 172. The engine failed in some ugly terrain. He did a pretty good job with what he had but the airplane was still destroyed and there were serious injuries. The airplane had 0 gals in the right tank and 11 gals in the left tank but the fuel selector was in the right tank only position. I asked why did he not check the selector. The response was that the instructor emphasized the flying portion of the PFL and we never really spent much time on the checks so when the engine failed I just concentrated on setting the glide and finding a field and landing in it........
The 80 % figure came from looking at accident reports. At least 80 % all of the engine failures involved causes that were in the control of the pilot.
How many of your engine failures were in simple certified Continental/lycoming engines ?
The OP was talking about the PPL(A) training which by definition will be in a certified aircraft of which the majority are going to be powered by the most reliable engines ever made the Continental O 200 or the Lycoming 0 320.
Now if you are flying around in 2 stroke Rotax powered airplanes then you has better always be in gliding distance of a landable field as it is almost certain it will fail, one of the reasons why I won't fly that class of aircraft.
I think it is vital that flight training teaches real world risk appreciation. If you start you flight in your Cessna/Piper with sufficient uncontaminated fuel selected to the right tank, the aircraft had a normal runup, smoothly made full takeoff power and had normal in flight engine gauge indications; and you had an accident it almost certainly will not because the engine suddenly and without warning failed.
Your accident will probably involve loosing control of yoru aircraft during takeoff or landing or getting lost and running out of fuel or flying into IMC conditions and losing control.
So IMHO the way flight training teaches the PFL is an example where a disproportionate amount of time is spent on a scenario that almost never happens and not enough on ones that actually do. I was doing some training for a CPL student (not mine) the other day. The exercise was a PFL. Instead of pulling the throttle to idle I reduced the power by 300 RPM when the student wasn't looking. No response by the student so I reduced the power by another 300 RPM. The students response was "what happening" to which I said " you tell me" . All I got was a deer in the headlights look. So I said "have we had an engine failure? " Umm maybe ????
Bottom line was the student was mad at me because he said I tricked him. He went on to say in a PFL the instructor is supposed to close the throttle because that was what was on the flight test.
The AHH HAH moment for me was early in my instructor career. A student at out school crashed a C 172. The engine failed in some ugly terrain. He did a pretty good job with what he had but the airplane was still destroyed and there were serious injuries. The airplane had 0 gals in the right tank and 11 gals in the left tank but the fuel selector was in the right tank only position. I asked why did he not check the selector. The response was that the instructor emphasized the flying portion of the PFL and we never really spent much time on the checks so when the engine failed I just concentrated on setting the glide and finding a field and landing in it........
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Originally Posted by Big Pistons Forever
2) When the engine has failed the insurance company has just bought the airplane. What it looks like after it has come to a stop is absolutely irelevant. What matters is nobody is hurt. Don't think of a PFL as a landing, think of it leading to a controlled crash
3) A steady 9 Gee deacceleration from 60 to 0 kts takes a ground run of 25 feet or one airplane length. Surviving the engine failure means avoiding the sudden stop caused by hitting an immovable object at flying speed. If the airplane hits approximately wings level and in a level flight attitude with a room for a bit of a ground run you will be OK. The take away is the field selection doesn't matter a whole lot. Making you selected touchdown point in control is what matters. Going immediately for the crap field that is close and has good approaches is way better than wasting time trying to find the perfect field.
3) A steady 9 Gee deacceleration from 60 to 0 kts takes a ground run of 25 feet or one airplane length. Surviving the engine failure means avoiding the sudden stop caused by hitting an immovable object at flying speed. If the airplane hits approximately wings level and in a level flight attitude with a room for a bit of a ground run you will be OK. The take away is the field selection doesn't matter a whole lot. Making you selected touchdown point in control is what matters. Going immediately for the crap field that is close and has good approaches is way better than wasting time trying to find the perfect field.
I rarely find myself in disagreement with Genghis' posts, but this time I am firmly in BPF's camp.
PFLs became much easier for me when an instructor explained the "insurance company/walking away from the crash" philosophy.
Of course, I still try to plan that the "crash" will be going through a fence at walking speed, rather than undershooting and hitting the fence at 60 kts!
PFLs became much easier for me when an instructor explained the "insurance company/walking away from the crash" philosophy.
Of course, I still try to plan that the "crash" will be going through a fence at walking speed, rather than undershooting and hitting the fence at 60 kts!
G of E
The 80 % figure came from looking at accident reports. At least 80 % all of the engine failures involved causes that were in the control of the pilot.
How many of your engine failures were in simple certified Continental/lycoming engines ?
The 80 % figure came from looking at accident reports. At least 80 % all of the engine failures involved causes that were in the control of the pilot.
How many of your engine failures were in simple certified Continental/lycoming engines ?
One of us is mis-reading the reports somewhere, so I thought I'd have a look at the last half dozen AAIB bulletins:-
Air Accidents Investigation: April 2014
BAe-146: engine fire on the ground
Islander: engine cowling came off due to poorly fastener
C150: Probably carb icing
TB10: Sudden stoppage, reasons unknown
TB10: Engine fire due faulty carb
RV9A: Stoppage downwind, probably either contaminated fuel or failed bolts.
Air Accidents Investigation: March 2014
PA38: Mis-management of aircraft / use of unleaded / all sorts of problems
Air Accidents Investigation: February 2014
Cassutt Racer: Used mixture instead of carb heat downwind
X'Air: Unknown
Air Accidents Investigation: January 2014
Beech 36: Possible birdstrike
AX2000: Reason unknown
Kolb: Prop shaft failure
Air Accidents Investigation: December 2013
A330: Turbine blade failure
CH601: Structural failure of propeller
Air Accidents Investigation: November 2013
G115: Mis-assembly of propellers
Piper Cub: Carb Ice
PA28: Incorrect fuel valve selection
P2002: Inconclusive, but possibly carb ice, plug fouling, or fuel starvation
Kolb Twinstar: Fuel starvation, maybe, reason for that unclear - possibly a fuel pump failure?
X'Air: Internal mechanical failure of the engine
So, some carb ice, and some mishandling, and some 2-stroke or uncertified engines. But all in a fairly small minority.
Sorry BPF, but I reall do think that your 80% figure is much overstated.
Anyhow, we're about 80% (!) in agreement about to handle them when they do occur.
On the other hand, I've also seen pilots just fly straight towards what they think is a suitable field, with no use of turns to adjust height, and when they fly like that, they almost always arrive at the field too high or too low and fluff the last bit. I tend to think that this is because they have flown with instructors who:-
- Initiate go-around at 500ft, and
- Fly square cornered glide approaches.
Neither of which, in my opinion, aid learning at-all.
G
So IMHO the way flight training teaches the PFL is an example where a disproportionate amount of time is spent on a scenario that almost never happens and not enough on ones that actually do. I was doing some training for a CPL student (not mine) the other day. The exercise was a PFL. Instead of pulling the throttle to idle I reduced the power by 300 RPM when the student wasn't looking. No response by the student so I reduced the power by another 300 RPM. The students response was "what happening" to which I said " you tell me" . All I got was a deer in the headlights look. So I said "have we had an engine failure? " Umm maybe ????
Quite simple for me the number one objective of a forced landing without power is to save your life and that of any passengers, not to mention people on the ground. If this can be done without damaging the aircraft that's a bonus.
Also better to hit the far hedge at taxi speed rather than the near hedge at flying speed.
Make sure you are landing more or less into wind and definitely not downwind - energy is proportional to (ground)speed squared.
Also not enough emphasis on attempting a restart assuming it's not an obvious mechanical failure or fire.
Statistics say you are three times more likely to have a partial engine failure than a total failure so best to teach and practice the partial failure.
Excellent report from Australia here:-
Managing partial power loss after takeoff in single-engine aircraft
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Right off the bat, page one, the Australian advice on power loss rather than Engine Quits Altogether Suddenly makes sense. No fatalities with sudden stop. Several fatalities with mismanaged loss of power.
My instructor on my last check ride in my Supercub did EXACTLY the right thing to test this possible scenario; He was very sneaky in the back seat reducing the power....but I did notice, and being familiar with the area, and having a fair amount of height in hand, I flew gently back toward the home field, and as the wind was practically non-existant and the field uncontrolled, I did a downwind landing!
It was really too easy, the PFL is every day, in a glider. So we are well practiced in choosing fields, and calculating glides.
The one point I would recommend to beginners in power is to perform the glider pattern/circuit. Quite simple, instead of a square circuit, just cut the corner onto base leg. We call this extra turn the diagonal leg.
You never loose sight of the landing area, you can always adjust the final turn to end up in a safe place. It is, in effect, the RAF constant turn.
DIAGONAL LEG every time, when the local regs will let you, try it and see!
For all that, I chose a setaside field full of very tall weeds on one landout;
and the chaps who came to get me with the glider trailer wondered why I hadn't set it down in the farmer's strip nearby! So intent was I on my circuit and approach I never saw it at all!
My instructor on my last check ride in my Supercub did EXACTLY the right thing to test this possible scenario; He was very sneaky in the back seat reducing the power....but I did notice, and being familiar with the area, and having a fair amount of height in hand, I flew gently back toward the home field, and as the wind was practically non-existant and the field uncontrolled, I did a downwind landing!
It was really too easy, the PFL is every day, in a glider. So we are well practiced in choosing fields, and calculating glides.
The one point I would recommend to beginners in power is to perform the glider pattern/circuit. Quite simple, instead of a square circuit, just cut the corner onto base leg. We call this extra turn the diagonal leg.
You never loose sight of the landing area, you can always adjust the final turn to end up in a safe place. It is, in effect, the RAF constant turn.
DIAGONAL LEG every time, when the local regs will let you, try it and see!
For all that, I chose a setaside field full of very tall weeds on one landout;
and the chaps who came to get me with the glider trailer wondered why I hadn't set it down in the farmer's strip nearby! So intent was I on my circuit and approach I never saw it at all!