----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Glides and stalls take on a whole new aspect when
the Ercoupe/Aircoupe becomes a glider! My only serious encounter with this
phenomenon occurred in 1991, "Cinco de Mayo" to be exact! I was at about
2,500 feet altitude, approx 1,900 feet AGL when it the silence overcame
me. I was about 6 miles from an airport, headed in the opposite
direction, I pumped the primer, checked all the fuel valves, turned the
airplane toward the airport, all within an altitude loss of about 400 feet, now
I'm at 1,500 feet AGL, and hollering into the microphone for somebody to come
and tell me what to do.
Airspeeds and rate of descent were the furthest
things from my mind.. I attempted to hold the airplane aloft with back
pressure, an unwise move, I chose a road for landing at about 900 feet AGL, and
it turned out to have power lines on both sides, so a little jog to the left
produced a plowed field. I am now at about 750 Feet AGL and I realize my
speed indication is 65 MPH and I'm falling like a rock!!! I have the
control column all the way back to the stops!! Somehow I engaged enough
guts to PUSH FORWARD on the control wheel, and speed up to about 75 Mph.
The sink rate had decreased some, and I had regained a tiny margin of reserve
back pressure when the mains touched in between the furrows.. I could hear
the rumble of the mains rolling on the rough terrain, as the nose wheel touched
down in the center of the furrow, which was wet. The airplane flipped
violently onto it's back and slid backwards for about 25 feet. I dug out
from the cockpit with a piece of Plexiglas from the broken windshield,
and found my way to a repair station for humans!!
The reason for this thesis is to establish the
importance of Ed Burkhead's testing procedure in order for you to become
familiar with the characteristics of YOUR airplane, not the one on the
nonexistent POH. Familiararity with the flight handling of your airplane
is the best insurance you can obtain. There is no way you can hold the
airplane aloft with the control column. Learn to set up a true
controllable glide which will allow you maneuvering room and control movement,
prior to touch down. Transferring flight characteristics from a true glide
to a minimum speed touchdown in an emergency requires rationing extreme control
movements close to the ground. I would implore you to practice these
maneuvers in your airplane prior to necessity, so you won't have to learn the
hard way like I did. There is a plethora of good information on this
website, It's up to you whether you use it or not.
----- Original Message -----From: Beverly DeatonTo: ErcoupeSent: Saturday, November 27, 2004 6:09 AMSubject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] glide and stalls----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----I can't really judge distance accurately in terms of miles anyway, so the bottom line is that I probably won't even be thinking about all this stuff. Rather, I'll be "eyeballing" my landing site and sizing up my glide by visual reference the same way we judge our approach to a runway----- Original Message -----From: Tim and Martha BriggsTo: Coupe-ListSent: Friday, November 26, 2004 7:59 AMSubject: FW: [COUPERS-FLYIN] glide and stalls----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----Tim,Thanks for that.I was afraid there was something seriously wrong with my not thinking about using all the numbers the others have been discussing. My head just does not work that way. I would pick an off field landing site immediately and go for it using the usual power off landing sight picture (it changes due to your referenced wind, turb, etc factors) which I have practiced many times at the airport.Here in the Sierras of Northern California there is no time to pull out the old calculator and use the info being discussed. Of course, when we depart the runway, we are already twice as high as some of these guys cruise.Unlike my C-172, my Coupe seems to have only one thing on her mind when I pull the throttle....DOWN!!!Bob1946 415E w/O-200N3047H "HONEY"============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
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