In the RAF Tutor the first thing in the mechanical failure drill is RPM – LOW, we do practice forced landings with RPM LOW and the performance difference is significant!
EuroFlyer wrote:
Good to know that. I’ve done most of the BPPP online seminars but must have missed that point somehow ! Would like to attend one of the real course but afaik they’re not offered in Europe….
I would love to visit Europe sometime. I assume I can instruct in N reg Bonanzas.
Regardless,find a place where you can climb to 6000 or so AGL. Let the engine loaf for a few minutes at 15 inches MP. Then pull the throttle to idle, establish the glide according to your weight, 105 Kts for the short body and 110 Kts for the A36. Trim for hands off. Once everything is stable, note the RPM and rate of descent. Then pull the prop control to the rear stop, don’t take more than two seconds to accomplish the pull. You will immediately feel the change and will need to increase the pitch to about level or 1 degree above the AI horizon to regain the glide speed. Re-trim and after everything is stable, not the RPM and rate of descent. From a sight picture point of view, you can glide to any point yorur wing tips cover and in zero wind, mentally draw a semicircle in front of you from wing tip to wing tip and this is where you can glide to. When you are satisfied with the results, push the prop control back in and you will need to pitch down to keep from decelerating. You can almost use the prop control as a reverse throttle, push in to shorten the glide, pull out to extend the glide.
The other dramatic demonstration is the emergency descent procedure. With the gear down, prop forward, cowl flaps closed, and in aircraft with the approach flap detent set flaps to approach setting, push the nose down until you reach gear speed. Start out at at least 6000 AGL. The deck angle is extreme. The descent rate exceeds 6000 FPM. Most pilots are unwilling to push the nose low enough to reach gear speed. I have found a trick that lets me know when the deck angle is close to the correct value, my seat goes over center on the rails and instead of resting on the rails, the seat is hanging from them. The point at which the seat has a noticeable lurch forward is about the right deck angle. The entire exercise is less than a minute if you start 7000 AGL, because I want to start the level off at least 1000 AGL and get the engine developing at least 15 to 20 inches of power. Don’t do this if you have a sinus condition or a cold. This would be used if you found the airplane on fire and wanted to be on the ground ASAP. So from 6000 AGL, you can be in the flare about a minute later. Runway is not a requirement, any open field will do. It is also covered in the POH, but not many pilots are aware of this.
NCYankee wrote:
It is also covered in the POH, but not many pilots are aware of this.
I’m surprised how many pilots don’t seem to read the POH. I get that there are some rather obscure things that most people won’t remember, like the diameter of the propeller, but it seems like you should at least read it cover to cover once or twice, and get to know the emergency and normal operations sections. (Though in fairness the Cessna POHs can run for hundreds of pages about equipment that isn’t installed.)
I assume I can instruct in N reg Bonanzas.
That is country dependent.
In the UK, I don’t think so without going through some hoops with the CAA, because paid work in foreign reg aircraft is generally not allowed. Permissions were available for instruction and tests for the aircraft owner, basically. Only recently they have removed the need to get the permission for these flights. So this kind of thing has tended to be done outside the UK, usually in France. If there is no payment made for the flying (e.g. only ground tuition is charged) there is no issue in the UK.
the first thing in the mechanical failure drill is RPM – LOW, we do practice forced landings with RPM LOW and the performance difference is significant!
Indeed – we have covered the prop RPM aspect in various threads. It seems to be about 20-30% improvement in the glide ratio. But I thought the bit about the MP lever improving the glide ratio was rather interesting…
I was a good friend of Jack Hirsch.RIP.
The prop setting influence on the glide performance has been discussed on this forum before.
Note that the effect is very different for different airplane types.
With the Cessna C177R Cardinal the it is a game changer, very dramatic reduction in vertical speed.
With the Piper PA-28-236 Dakota there is hardly any detectable effect.
So experience is not cross-type transferable.
Can be tested by cutting power with the mixture.
Would be interesting if someone could do a gps log of a portion of the glide with Throttle Wide-Open versus Throttle Closed…
Simple reintroduction of the mixture will restart combustion, on aircraft types where the prop keeps spinning.
Disclaimer: do this overhead a suitable landing spot…
@Peter what was the edition/article title?
huv wrote:
The prop setting influence on the glide performance has been discussed on this forum before.
Note that the effect is very different for different airplane types.
With the Cessna C177R Cardinal the it is a game changer, very dramatic reduction in vertical speed.
With the Piper PA-28-236 Dakota there is hardly any detectable effect.
So experience is not cross-type transferable.
The info about the Dakota surprises me, especially because I was flying an old Arrow, pulling the prop lever to low had a marked effect on descent rate. It was all part of the memorised emergency checks to be run in case of engine failure….. along with…. ahhh….. uhm…. sorry, I forget; since flying Cirrus, my check list on rough engine / engine stop is boost pump on, switch tanks, cycle magnetos, alt air then if that doesn’t work, reach for the handle 
I can’t remember where from I got this.
That not news. The original post is.
