On Monday, September 23, 2019 at 10:57:40 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
I'll have to redo my measurements of years ago. I recall getting about 20:1 in
landing configuration, but I can't find my notes. Who did the 17:1 measurement?

When I had my '26E, I once flew several self launches to pattern altitude, shut down the engine and landed with the prop extended. It was a complete non-event and felt the same as a pattern and landing in an ASK-21. I like to fly a high and steep final so maybe that's why. I probably used less spoiler in the '26E to maintain the same approach angle. I also applied landing flaps sometime between base and final.

When making a "straight in" type final glide with just a couple hundred feet arrival when some distance out, I'd pick a (or already have one in mind) a few miles out if it still looked marginal. I'd then start the engine, make a few orbits over the safety field to gain altitude, then motor home. Once home, I'd retract the engine part way to cool it and make a landing.

I once joined a ASW-20B in an extremely weak thermal, shut down the motor and again lowered it to the slightly extended cooling position. We were pretty much even in climb and even while gliding to another thermal a mile or two away. So my takeaway there is that at speeds around 60 knots, the open engine doors and partly extended engine produce negligible drag.

IMHO, the dire warnings about poor LD on the POH are there to avoid any liability if someone decides to sue after an engine extended mishap. Or to be a bit kinder, like what we tell new glider pilots about thermalling low - stop trying to stay up and just land once at XXXX above ground.

5Z
Now flying ASW-27b