Gliders soar at min sink speed because the slower the descent (in still air) the better the climb rate in rising air.
But the reason they travel between thermals at Best Glide (in nil wind anyway) is because that’s how to cover the most distance for the height loss, and in the event of a forced landing that gives you the best choice of field. So I still don’t see that flying at anything other than Vbg gives you more options.
There is a procedure called a Radar PFL which was designed for Hawk and Tucanos
We did the 1 in 1 on the Gnat in the mid-70s. I’ve taught it in light aircraft and airliners (in the sim!) and wouldn’t hesitate to do it with IFR conditions over the airfield and no power. Reallistically, you need 500-600 ft cloudbase.
Pilot_DAR wrote:
IF you choose to glide more slowly than the recommended glide speed, you have committed yourself to a crash, unless you can return to an on speed or faster glide in the final few hundred feet.
I don’t get that. While I wouldn’t never recommend flying a forced landing at less than best glide speed, until you’re guaranteed to make the field, I don’t follow the logic that flying slower than that commits you to a crash.
In any standard circuit, I always fly the entire final leg at less than best glide speed. If started the final leg of a circuit at best glide speed, it would take some effort to slow down enough for landing, even with no engine power.
As so often in flying: the answer is “it depends”.
In a draggy retractable with gear down and high wing loading, if you get a bit too slow you might not have enough energy left for a reasonable flare. On a slippery motorglider with high aspect ratio, not so much of a problem, in fact you might have the opposite issue of gliding forever in ground effect without slowing down enough.
As usual, I am a bit amused by the desire for a universal technique – what works for a fighter (arriving in the overhead at 350kt) or the space shuttle is just not appropriate for a PA28, which is diferent from a DA20 or Dimona or a glider.
Well to me “a bit to slow” is slower than a normal approach speed. It’s not slower than a best glide speed.
I am with you Colm. On many SEP aircraft, the delta between best glide and stall is more than 30 knots…
I just read a dozen pages of my illegally downloaded “Labgewiesche”. Thereafter I deleted it. I found this stuff almost impossible to read. The way he keeps calling the aeroplane a “ship” alone would have kept me from reading any further. He probably talks about “starboard” and “port” also, something I am totally allergic against in the context of aviation. But I did not, an will not, read far enough to discover that.
what_next wrote:
I just read a dozen pages of my illegally downloaded “Labgewiesche”. Thereafter I deleted it. I found this stuff almost impossible to read. The way he keeps calling the aeroplane a “ship” alone would have kept me from reading any further. He probably talks about “starboard” and “port” also, something I am totally allergic against in the context of aviation. But I did not, an will not, read far enough to discover that.
It was written in 1944. That was completely normal as all the terminology was taken from ships.
JasonC wrote:
That was completely normal as all the terminology was taken from ships.
The word “ownship” is still used to refer to your own aircraft on map displays.
It was written in 1944. That was completely normal as all the terminology was taken from ships.
I know. But that doesn’t make me like it any better… (I tend to be somewhat finicky about those things, like I can’t watch most flying videos on YouTube because I find the background music annoying).
