"kd5sak" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for the reply, after reading about it so often over the years I've
often
wondered what actual pilots might think. Nearest thing I've had happen was
motorcycling.

Actually, the 180 degree unpowered return from takeoff is a pretty constant
and well-known killer of pilots. The statics say it is much better to crash
straight ahead under control than to stall-spin-crash. Gliders are a bit of a
different story. I am a glider CFI and we actually teach 180 degree returns
from 400 feet.


Cornered a long curve much too fast and drifted off the road and shoulder
until I wound up paralleling a 4 strand barbed wire fence about two feet away
at speed. Don't know how fast but had slowed some by then. Stayed out of it
and finally crossed back onto the road but kept thinking, "self, you should
have layed it down".I think it's almost always better to be lucky than smart
when critical decisions are necessary..

I will never forget shortly after I traded my Honda 305 for an Earles-fork
BMW. I went tearing down the road following my friends. When we came to the
Interstate, they all gracefully took the 45 degree turn onto the on-ramp while I
(using the techniques learned from the sprightly little Honda) only managed
about 22 degrees...

Vaughn WB4UHB