Horn, John wrote:
This might not be the best analogy. If I'm on that plane, I'd much rather it make an emergency landing when the first engine fails. Maybe it's just me...
I would, too, if there were a nice runway under me... but I suspect you meant what pilots call a "precautionary landing."
I meant "emergency landing" in the way that pilots use the term -- find a place to set down NOW. It's something that student pilots are drilled on quite a bit and FAA examiners include in every test. "You just lost your power," is how it starts, generally with no warning. You're expected to decide where you'll land, point the airplane there while getting the plane configured for maximum glide, then go through the engine checklist trying to get it running again.
When there's enough time to find an airport and land there, you're either extremely lucky or you're making a "precautionary" landing. Did that once, in Livermore, and discovered one of my passengers had left a seatbelt sticking out the door a bit. When the wind caught it and pulled a few feet out, where it was then free to thrash against the wing, it made an altogether too exciting noise.
Having been in a airplane with a failing engine at 18,000 feet over Wyoming in instrument conditions almost down the deck, I can tell you from experience (I can feel the butterflies even now) that the prospect of a real emergency landing lends great perspective to the question, "Is this a crisis?" Rather than assuming we were in an immediate crisis and start looking for a landing spot (although we checked the GPS for the closest airports quickly), the other pilot and I assessed the situation first, figuring out how long we could hold our altitude, given the rate at which the engine was losing power. That's the right thing to do when you have a problem, not a crisis.
I suppose some might like to hear about the outcome of that day. Obviously, we survived. We never lost enough power to be unable to hold our altitude and the engine was back to normal within minutes after we got out of IMC (instrument meteorological conditions). The general consensus among various mechanics and owners of similar airplanes (a Mooney 231) was that it must have been some kind of icing, but given that it was a turbocharged engine, carb icing, the usual culprit, is thought to be impossible.
He traded in the Mooney on a twin, a Baron. And the Baron on a boat.
Nick
_______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
