On Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 2:39:42 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
On Tuesday, August 4, 2020 at 11:47:29 PM UTC-7, Paul B wrote:
"And of course there are a couple of other points to consider - for
example the fact that the engine finally seized up just when he
started his turn to final. If it had delivered power for another four,
five seconds, he would have made it into the field."

Andreas, you cannot have it both ways, if indeed the engine delivered power for extra four or five seconds AND he turned early, than he would landed without an issue. Instead his plan, up to the time when he straightened to land, was to cross a busy highway twice. Cannot see that as the best decision.

Again, I am not questioning what he did, simply saying that he could have addressed his desire to reach the runway of a normal circuit in the briefing. I am sure that not modifying a circuit as appropriate has killed many..


Cheers

Paul




On Wednesday, 5 August 2020 at 12:51:20 am UTC+10, Andreas Maurer wrote:
On Mon, 3 Aug 2020 22:01:17 -0700 (PDT), Paul B
wrote:
"Conclusion:
This landing is a perfect example of getting one's priorities right"

Yes, but only in the last 5 seconds of the flight. Right before he aborted the left hand turn, he was going to land on the strip. That was his plan.
Indeed. And instead of trying to scratch into the field, he chose the
safe option while he was still high and fast enough.

My point is that he should have turned before he reached the freeway.. Not necessarily when it was all happening, I am aware of the pressure that he was under.
Even if he had started his turn earlier (in the middle of the downwind
leg) he would not have had the engery to complete it and would have
crashed into the fields south of the runway, still heading toward the
crowd - and the row of parked GA aircraft (and their personnel) in the
South of the runway.

Not to mention that the remaining runway length - if he had been able
to reach the airfield - was very close to the landing distance of a
P-51. Overshooting the runway in a tail dragger and risking a
somersault? Hmmm...


Clear case:
He made the best decision, without a doubt.

Cheers
Andreas


p.s.
And of course there are a couple of other points to consider - for
example the fact that the engine finally seized up just when he
started his turn to final. If it had delivered power for another four,
five seconds, he would have made it into the field.

I'm still waiting for anyone to describe just when a P51 has ever been used as a towplane.

Tom

Tom this discussion has been helpful to point out there is a startle effect in any emergency. I have had multiple in flight emergencies (inflight fire, explosive decompression, throttle cable on twin came undone one short final (never covered that in any training), 90 degree flaps didn't 90 degrees....etc). Each event took a measurable amount of time to understand what was happening and how to respond. This discussion is directly applicable to soaring or any flight activity. This is why we practice 200 ft turn back and say 200 ft outbound on take offs. To lessen the startle effect and to have a plan without thinking. Hangar flying is the thing I miss most about not having a hangar now. Only a fool could not learn from another pilot's actions in an emergency. All soaring pilots are pilots.