BB wrote:

As fun as the high parasitic drag maneuver is, I wonder if anyone has
ever actually used it in combat. Has anyone been so flustered and out
of synch to get monstrously high in an off field landing, then had the
presence of mind and skill left to dive to the ground at near VNE,
aiming several hundreds of yards short of the intended small paddock
with fence at the far end, and had it work? The mental attitude that
gets to the problem seems incompatible with the attitude needed to
pull this one off.


In "combat"? In a Duo?

There are a number of real combat stories about people keeping the speed
high in damaged aircraft to get down out of the fight, through clouds,
etc. to find a safer area for a forced landing or bailout--so as not to
be hosed while under canopy, or to avoid setting up a big slow pattern
that would make them a sitting duck--but I think that diverges from what
you are asking.

I don't think fighter pilots get a chance to practice engine out
landings much, so yes, they adapt. The best adaptation is that for which
the mental groundwork is laid _on_ the ground.

Sailplane pilots have the incomparable advantage of doing their
preparation on the ground _and_ in the air by planning and practicing
both low- and high-energy approaches, as has been outlined here in
previous postings by several contributors.


Jack