Recognizing and reacting to tow plane engine failure

When I used to do a lot of "scenic glider rides" many times the passenger would request to "fly over their house"..but the request was made once airborne...

Steering turns worked great for this!

Cookie




On Friday, October 24, 2014 11:31:25 PM UTC-4, Bill T wrote:
We regularly review steering turns in the glider training program and talk it over with the tow pilots. We rarely use it in flight. Normally the glider pilots figure the tow knows where the lift is, or a destination for top of tow was coordinated before flight.

Engine failure, witnessed one. Stearman tow plane, the glider pilot saw a puff of smoke and the rope dropped from the tow in the next second. Glider ended up off field. The Stearman had popped the top off a jug and returned back to the field at minimum power.

I've had stuck valve vibrations in the Pawnee and held on to 300ft AGL and calmly directed the student solo pilot to "Release, release, release" and he did and returned to the field as did I.

Training and regular reviews.
BillT

On 2014-10-25 10:54:55 +0000, Cookie said:

When I used to do a lot of "scenic glider rides" many times the
passenger would request to "fly over their house"..but the request was
made once airborne...

Steering turns worked great for this!

Pawnee climbs steeper than the DG1000 descends, so for any given
distance from the airport (other than straight over the boundary fence)
I can fly over lower in free flight than on tow. Especially with a bit
of a dive and then pull up.

I once did a fly by the living room window of a trial flighter who's
house was on a 500 ft ridge 2 miles from the airfield. I would be
nervous there at 50 knots, but with the climb after a pass at 100 knots
it was always going to be fine.