Re: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group St. Augustine forced landing

Richard,

Are you referring to Jim Ferris or Jim Bair?

 

If you are referring to me, I am a Commercial Glider pilot and a hang glider pilot as well, so I do have some understanding of min sink, L/D, etc.   Using those techniques in the glider world is certainly proper, no disagreement, or in the non powered world when your airplane quits at altitude and you're trying to either maximize glide or use more drag to minimize glide, but in this case, I seriously doubt Capt. Sully was worrying about min sink, max L/D, etc.  He had a clear patch of flat calm water in front of him and he did a great job of landing at min speed wings level.  They were so busy they forgot the ditch switch that closes all the holes in the airplane, but as far as I know that was the only mistake made and that was a small one and no one cared because it made no difference in this case and everyone understood they didn't have much time.  Their time was spent simply flying the plane and trying to get a restart.

 

I do disagree with your statement that just because a plane is large heavy and fast does not disqualify it as a glider.  For all practical purposes, it does.  Yes, the space shuttle is a glider.  However, it has so little in common with a normal glider that the word they have in common, glider, is meaningless.  Yes, an airliner will glide power off.  Anything with a wing will as far as I know.  It's just a matter of degree.  By your definition of glider, everything that flies is a glider.  That makes the word meaningless in any descriptive sense.  I have glided 2 jet fighters engine out.  That did not make them gliders.  Fortunately, I got them both restarted and did not have to go all the way to the ground.  (One I would have made it to a runway, the other probably not.)

 

Jim

 

From: Richard Williams

Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 2:18 PM

To: Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group St. Augustine forced landing

 

 

Jim,

As I read your post, I think you could benefit from glider training.

Then you would know about min sink, max L/D, and other viable techniques that
make it (relatively) easy to avoid obstacles, land short (or long), etc.

Just because the plane is large, heavy, and flies fast does not disqualify it as
a glider.

It is the captains experience as a glider pilot that made the difference between
a plane shattering, passenger killing crash and the actual landing on the water.

R. Williams