"John Clear" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

I recall the story -- happened about 50 years ago. The Stratocruiser
lost 2 engines, IIRC, and descended (power glided) to about 1/2 wingspan
of the water and was able to fly to land in surface effect. They
obviously did not descend immediately, rather they did a max L/D powered
descent until they stopped losing altitude. It was written up in an old
"Reader's Digest," among others.

This sounds like the Ernest Gann novel 'The High and the Mighty'
which was also made into a movie of the same name, starring John
Wayne and Robert Stack.

Halfway between Hawaii and San Francisco, they lose an engine which
sheds parts and punctures the fuel tanks on that wing. The movie
was unavailable for years due to a dispute with Wayne's estate,
but has recently become available. I watched it last year, and it
is very well done, and the inspiration for all the other aviation
disaster flicks.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/


If I remember right, in that movie the bird was a DC6 and I think they
stayed at altitude until approach with a normal enroute altitude profile.
The big rub was the ongoing interaction between the right and left seats on
whether to ditch in the sea under power with the remaining fuel or try for
the approach and take a chance the engines would quit.

Poor Lennie the navigator screwed up his winds and made the problem a bit
more interesting, but I don't recall them leaving their assigned altitude
enroute to take a shot at ground effect.
Great movie though. Wonderful sub-plots with Alexis Smith and David Brian
and the other regulars.
You have to love the Duke! Poor Robert Stack. With an engine hanging off the
wing, raw fuel pouring out all over the place, the passengers yelling and
screaming in the back that they're all going to die, solid IFR, on vectors
to the FAF with nothing but the city below him and the fuel gauges on empty,
the Duke, who KNOWS that unusable fuel just MIGHT be usable, slaps him in
the puss and hollers, "Shut up and fly!"
Ah...the movies!!! Great Stuff!! :-))
Dudley Henriques