On my checkride, the DE pulled the throttle right after some other maneuvers
and told me that I'd just lost the engine. I picked a decent field, turned
toward it, trimmed for best glide and started through the engine restart
procedure. As I completed my turn toward the selected field, I looked down
and saw a grass airfield directly below. I calmly said that the airfield
was probably better than the original farmer's field and set up to land on
it. He gave me the engine back and we went on to the next item in the
flight test. Lesson learned: always look behind and underneath you. You
might be missing a better landing site.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"B A R R Y" wrote in message
t...
Andrew Gideon wrote:
On Sun, 14 May 2006 20:37:42 +0000, B A R R Y wrote:

Rumor has it that people STILL accidentally land at P&W's East Hartford,
CT site, thinking it's HFD.

A number of years ago, my CFII had me to an approach there to see if I'd
pick the wrong airport. I vaguely recall the approach leaving me pointed
at Rentschler, but none of the IAPs at KHFD appear to do that. Perhaps
I'm thinking of one of the other 'tricks' my CFII tried.


I look at "tricks" like that as *favors*.

A CFI ended a long foggle session right before my PP check ride (the turn
right to 030, climb 1000, descend 500... kind where I don't really know
where we are) with me perfectly lined up on distant runway and flying
straight into a head wind. He then pulled the throttle!

I did the usual A-B-C-C-C's while heading toward the airport I saw when
the foggles came off. He calmly sat there, complimented my execution of
emergency procedures, sat there, sat some more... It became very apparent
that we were gonna' be 1/2-1 mile short. This was in surburbia, so I had
a choice of a rush-hour clogged road, or a steel mill and railroad yard
that's short of the runway. "We aren't gonna' make it." I said to him in
a very quiet tone, adding "It looks like I'm going for the tracks".

He thottled us up, and then pointed out that my home field was RIGHT OVER
MY LEFT SHOULDER and easily made when he pulled the throttle!!! Man, was I
****ed!! I spent the 20 minute flight and taxi back to the parking space
totally bitching him out, only stopping to breathe and call my position in
the pattern. I mean, I'm totally ON FIRE!!! During my speech I went on
and on with every detail about how I would KNOW where _I_ was with my
"NRST" button, the GPS map, open charts, VOR's, etc... If I was the one
responsible for where we were going.

Man did he teach me an unforgettable lesson that day!! HE had luleld me
into a false sense of security, when I should have immediately oriented
myself when the foggles came off. I still talk to him on occasion, so I
remind him to do this to every student he gets. G