Hi everyone! Its not often Im moved to write here I dont have any technical
skills
to offer (I just very gratefully make use of other peoples knowledge by
reading this forum!)
However, regarding this 180 degree turning back issue Im absolutely appalled at
some of the comments Im reading here.
I cant say this loudly enough or type it big enough: !!!DO NOT TURN BACK!!!
Its a killer. It always has been and always will be. Theres no big mystery
about
it the SAFEST option will always be to land somewhere thats reasonably in
front of you.
Thats it said really; the rest of this message is just supporting material.
Sure,
landing ahead may well result in damage to the plane. But with a little skill
and a little luck you should come away unscathed, and maybe the plane will
too. Depends on the local situation. This is far far better than entering
the roulette wheel of turning back, from which the consequences of losing.well
we know that dont we?
Lets look at Mr Average (me, you, all of us) in a worse case scenario. Climbing
out at 60 kts - flaps still down (high drag) nose well up cos its a nice
powerful
plane with the latest prop, when the unthinkable happens at say 500 feet
and totally unexpectedly the engine stops. By the time weve reacted to it
the speed will have dropped to 55 kts or probably less. Then the penny drops
and we smartly poke the stick forward and the nose thankfully starts to go down.
Speed will still be lost as the nose is going down until some sort of gliding
attitude is attained; only then will the speed loss trend be halted. If
youre a switched on cookie and you reacted well to the surprise the speed will
now be steady at about 50 kts but a lot less if youre not so sharp it might
be 40 kts or less. Remember, nose high and power off rate of speed loss will
be tremendous. What speed should we be aiming for in the subsequent glide?
I dont know 60 kts seems a reasonable
safe approach and landing speed. More if you need to manoeuvre
significantly.
To increase speed in order to obtain a safe gliding speed with the engine
off, (and especially if the flaps are down) will need a much lower nose
attitude
lower than we would EVER use in normal circumstances and will use up a very
great deal of height probably most of your original 500 feet. Just to get
the plane flying safely again. Still going to turn back?? I promise you you
will not make it!!
The first golden rule is to get the bl**dy nose well down, keep it well down and
monitor the speed carefully before any sort of manoeuvring is attempted. In
the worse type of critical situation you can still achieve a lot with the plane
under good control. If you lose control by not achieving and maintaining a
safe speed everything will be lost.
Incidently, this entire posting is not aimed at the Europa. Its relevant to
every
aeroplane there is. Were fortunate with the Europa in that we are slightly
better off than many other planes because its such a great design with super
easy handling and does have some degree of glide performance which might help
reach a landing/ controlled crash site that many other planes wouldnt have the
legs to reach. All aeroplanes glide like bricks, the Europa is just a slightly
more streamlined brick. The Europa will stall and spin if badly handled,
say in an unwise and badly managed turn back. Its only an aeroplane after all
and all aeroplanes will stall and spin, at least every one Ive ever flown.
Just a few comments on postings Ive read recently: First the most serious:
Someone wrote that during their conversion training they were advised and
demonstrated
(BY A PFA COACH for goodness sake!!) that a turn back is possible in the
Europa from 300 feet. If people are being taught things like this then it
is of no surprise at all to me that these sorts of accidents are still happening
as they have been for nearly 100 years. I dont know the person who advocates
this practise and I dont really want to, but I feel this sort of advice has
no place in modern day coaching. The person who wrote this post went on to
say he intends to practise the manoeuvre again. PLEASE DONT. It sounds most
dangerous. Firstly, heaven forbid, you might be tempted to attempt it for real,
secondly just doing it under controlled simulated conditions sounds fraught
with danger. It would be a real shame to become a statistic trying to practise
this dangerous exercise. JUST LAND AHEAD!
A real engine failure after take off will be totally unexpected and will place
even the most experienced pilot ever in a totally alien environment with a huge
workload. There will be a fraction of the normal human resources available
to control the plane thats why any action taken must be kept as simple as
possible.
Incidently, pilot experience does not necessarily seem to be a factor.
In fact a newly qualified PPL maybe "safer" because hopefully he will rely on
his recent training and put the thing down straight ahead. An "old hand" may
be more likely to "think" he is able to turn back where in reality - he can't.
Ive read discussion about how individual aircraft of the same design (ie the
Europa)
have different stall/ spin characteristics from others of the same mark.
Maybe, in fact quite probably, but irrelevant to this turn back discussion.
Throughout any manoeuvring near the ground, whether during an unwise turn back
or whatever you should be nowhere near stalling!! Thats just basic skill and
handling. If the difference between one variant or another determines the
possible
successful outcome or otherwise of a situation DONT GO THERE!! Fly the
aircraft properly; well balanced and at a safe speed and you will stay safe.
People talk about slipping or skidding turns near the stall. DO NOT DO THIS
NEAR THE GROUND. If you cannot manoeuvre near the ground without slipping or
skidding and/or stalling then dont do it youve guessed it . Land ahead!!
Ive read about Europa fuel tanks and their survivability. I dont know any of
the
technical bits but it seems to me to be an excellent, strong and well -
positioned
design. Ive flown a Piper Pawnee with the fuel tank sandwiched between
the engine and the pilot, just ready for the engine to be pushed back into the
tank. The Super Cub has the left wing tank header tank just above your toes.
Ive flown the Falke motorglider with the tank just behind your head! Its got
to go somewhere and the Europa seems to be at least as good as any of those!
If an aircraft is to sadly stall/ spin into the ground then I dont think any
type of fuel tank will survive this. Dont worry about the tank concentrate
on flying safely instead and youll be fine!
The Europa is a fine aircraft but it will bite back if mis-handled just like any
other aircraft will. We must all strive to be safe and sensible and try not
to let a plane bite us.
Best wishes, sorry to ramble on got carried away!
Jon Smith
G-TERN
Visit - www.EuropaOwners.org
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