"Ron Garret" wrote in message
...

The discussion about cutting power on final reminded me of something
I've been puzzled about for some time now.

If you fly final with some amount of power (which I gather most people
do -- I always have) that seems to guarantee that if you lose your
engine on final you will land short, and there's pretty much nothing you
can do about it. Is that true? Or have I missed something? What
should you do if you lose your engine just after turning base to final?

The "I always cut power on final" guys to the contrary (and I am not saying
that they are full of it, only that they may not have considered all
possibilities), I think you are missing something.

So try it. Set up just as you would for a power on landing, flaps down,
recommended airspeed, right on glide slope, and cut your power. See if you
can make it. If you can't, figure out why not.

But then you are on base. Well, turn straight toward the runway. Forget
about flying a square pattern. Set up for best glide. Experiment with it. Is
it easier to make the runway if you raise your flaps? How does the wind
affect it? Can you still do it if you start out somewhat low and slow? What
does it take to milk that last bit of distance out of your altitude? You can
read about this stuff forever, but actually practicing things and trying
them out will teach you a heck of a lot.