X-Virus-Scanned: clean according to Sophos on Logan.com Return-Path: Sender: To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:59:24 -0500 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from mail-gx0-f227.google.com ([209.85.217.227] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 5.3.2) with ESMTP id 4112598 for lml@lancaironline.net; Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:30:54 -0500 Received-SPF: pass receiver=logan.com; client-ip=209.85.217.227; envelope-from=dballin@gmail.com Received: by gxk27 with SMTP id 27so1274199gxk.7 for ; Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:30:18 -0800 (PST) DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=mime-version:reply-to:date:message-id:subject:from:to:content-type :content-transfer-encoding; b=Lwirc1xxYwy3lp8ofLWuPHbjGEYLPXR29LxHmT84tPVpudkUuMES9vN73Uj46oxpd2 96KcAifDqFPMq68sFPzhJEBlSqbADzXcRKxb+p1YAhMV6J5sy2m6JBUx4bI7D6IWQC7X mkJaniG0vXjQikJuNfAWSTcLNWrl/Km9R8nlw= MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: by 10.91.106.18 with SMTP id i18mr2776699agm.14.1265383814679; Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:30:14 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: dballin@gmail.com X-Original-Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 07:30:14 -0800 X-Original-Message-ID: Subject: Engine failure From: Dan Ballin X-Original-To: Lancair Mailing List Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Bob Jeffery asked me to forward this to the LML. I think we can all learn something from his wisdom and experience Dan Ballin ----------------------- I=92ve seen a number of entries related to engine out/forced landings recently so I thought I would add my two cents worth. I know this will be long, but hopefully, someone will get something out of this that will help him or her some day. As you are winging your way through the ethers, there are basically three sources of energy available to you; airspeed, altitude and power. If you loose power, you only have the former two to rely upon. You are now in a pure energy management situation. Your life/lives and aircraft are dependent upon how well you manage this energy. The aircraft is expendable (yes, I know that you have years of blood, sweat and tears in it) so the most important thing is to be able to walk away from it unharmed. Ideally, you can save both but it=92s not a perfect world. So, what can you do to enhance your chances of survival, and there are many, i.e. fly smart, practice, know your critical emergency procedures by heart and practice them sitting in the cockpit using visualization. Statistically, most accidents happen in the takeoff and landing environment. If you loose an engine there, you had better do everything right and quickly or you will become one of the statistics. When you takeoff, do you perform a pre-takeoff brief for yourself and pax reviewing what you will do if you loose an engine on takeoff and being ready for it? Do you know the terrain off the end of your home airfield runways and where your best landing sites are? At Reno a few years ago, we lost one on takeoff when he elected to land straight ahead. If he had turned about 20 degrees left he would have had level ground instead of a cliff ahead of him. Do you look cool on takeoff by lifting off, sucking the gear up, and accelerating ten feet off the runway instead of retracting the gear and climbing at Vx to 1000=92 AGL quickly gaining altitude that would expand your landing footprint in the event of an engine failure? In the traffic pattern, do you fly at 1500=92 AGL (separating you from the slow guys at 1000=92 and giving you enough altitude to make the runway with an engine failure: this is for the Legacy and IV)? Do you fly a wide downwind or close enough to make the runway without power? Do you fly a steeper than normal (3 degree) final for the same reason? On cross countries, do you take mountainous terrain into consideration planning your route of flight? Do you keep a potential landing site in view all the time? I could go on and on. If you are not considering safety issues like these perhaps you subscribe to the philosophy that =93It can=92t happen to me.=94 That philosophy fosters complacency. I=92ve been shot down, had five engine failures, one bailout, two dead stick landings (both last year in a TS-11 Jet Warbird and a Legacy), one gear up (my fault), two runaway props, etc. I started out thinking all this kind of stuff happened to the other guy. Not anymore. OK, let=92s talk about the actual engine failure. This is directed primarily at the Legacy and Lancair IV type aircraft. First of all, it=92s probably going to be a BIG surprise. You will burn some time reacting to the situation (What=92s going on, how can this happen to me, etc). If it happens on takeoff, and this is IMORTANT, you must pitch from a takeoff attitude to a best glide attitude to avoid a stall/spin. Do you know what this sight picture is for your aircraft? You want to hit the pitch attitude perfectly that will result in that L/D max glide which is 120 KIAS for the Legacy and IV (varies some with weight). If you hit that attitude perfectly, your airspeed will build back to 120 KIAS and if you were at 1000=92 AGL, will have around 600=92-700=92 left to maneuver. Your altitude will determine the size of your available landing footprint. DO NOT try to make a 180 degree turn back to the runway. I can show you an exercise that will graphically prove it won=92t work (I know some of you hot sticks out there practice this and feel you can safely accomplish it. In the heat of the battle, it=92s a bad idea). Statistics also show that this results in a stall/spin in a high percentage of attempts. If you think you know what caused the failure and it=92s not a mechanical failure, you might try to reposition a fuel selector valve or turn on a fuel pump but you MUST fly the aircraft first and concentrate on your landing. If this happens on downwind in the pattern, you are committed to turning directly to the runway. When committed to a forced landing your throttle quadrant should have all levers aft or full out. Placing the prop lever full aft and getting the prop to high pitch or feather will make a substantial difference in your glide ratio. The following chart is typical of a Legacy. The numbers on a IV are a little better but the relationships are the same: Prop lever forward prop lever aft Clean 1500=92/min 800=92/min 10 degrees flaps 1700=92/min 1000=92/min Gear down 2200=92/min 1700=92/min Full flaps 3000=92/min 2300=92/min Notice a couple of important relationships. Your rate of descent is reduced significantly if you can get your prop to high pitch or feather. Also notice the incremental increases in rates of descent with the addition of different drag elements. Ten degrees of flaps is fairly insignificant. The gear is the next highest drag factor and full flaps adds the most drag and increase to the rate of descent. This is important to know in a forced landing pattern. If you experience an engine failure at altitude, turn toward that site you have picked out en-route, trim the aircraft for best glide, and determine if you will try a restart or secure the engine. If you are committed to a forced landing, fly a pattern that you have practiced and are familiar with and will tell you how well you are progressing toward a successful landing at your intended site. The most proven pattern is the one I learned in the Air Force and is taught by HPAT. This pattern consists of a 360 degree circling descent from overhead the landing site to the actual landing. The point over the landing site should be 1/3 the distance down the runway/landing site. The theory here is that it is better to run off the end at 20 kts than land short at 120 kts. You can always move this aim point toward the approach end as the pattern progresses and you know that you have the landing site made. This point above the landing site is called HIGH KEY and is 3500=92 AGL for the Legacy and IV. You are at 120 KIAS, clean and prop aft. At HIGH KEY begin a 15 degree bank turn, no wind, to the left (you want to keep the runway in sight and you have priority as an emergency). When you are abeam the HIGH KEY point in your 360 degree spiral, you are at the LOW KEY point. You should be around 1800=92 AGL with the runway/landing site on your wingtip. These KEYS are just that. They are key points in the forced landing pattern that tell you how well you are doing based upon your actual altitude verses your calculated KEY altitudes (you must have calculated these altitudes and know what they are before starting). You now adjust your pattern based upon the difference between the two. You can enter the pattern at either KEY depending upon the available altitude. Land downwind if it accommodates your situation best (I think up to 10 kts is acceptable). If your altitude is on schedule at LOW KEY, extend ten degrees of flaps. The last 180 degrees of turn is the most critical and requires the most judgment. Between the LOW KEY point and the 270 degree of turn point, you should have a pretty good idea how well you are doing. If everything is on schedule and you are confident you will make the runway, extend the gear. By the 270 degree point, you should be able to see the point on your landing site that is not moving toward or away from you. This is the point where your flight path will intersect the surface. When there is no doubt about making the runway, you can extend full flaps. This is where you might be able to move your aim point toward the approach end. The flare to landing is critical. You=92re not used to flaring from a 3000=92/min sink rate. The ground will literally be rushing up to meet you. This is best handled by a two stage maneuver. The first stage is raising your nose to arrest your sink rate to a normal approach descent rate at approximately 100=92AGL, and then make a flare for the actual landing. This is one of the reasons why you carry 120 KIAS throughout the pattern. ADJUSTMENTS: If you are high at LOW KEY you can start configuring early, roll out of the turn and extend slightly on a downwind (be careful how far you go since you have to return the same distance you extended while gliding). Remember what you have available to increase your drag and descent rate: gear, flaps, speed brakes, prop control, slip, etc. If you are low relative to your ideal LOW KEY altitude you can tighten your turn, delay configuring, etc. A common error that I see, which is very dangerous, in the turn from the 270 degree point to final is rolling out on a base leg. This puts you in a situation at low altitude with a lot of turn left to align with the landing site. This results in a position that requires a high bank angle (increased wing loading) at low altitude to avoid an overshoot situation. This is a classic stall/spin scenario. You COULD find yourself so low at LOW KEY that you must continue your turn to the landing site while holding gear until just before the initial flare maneuver and never extending the flaps. All the above is an ideal situation with enough altitude to pull it off. The most difficult situation would be a straight-in approach. You won=92t have the KEY positions to judge your pattern. After the engine fails and you are heading toward your landing site stabilized in your 120 KIAS glide, look for the spot on the surface that is stationary and not moving up or down in the windscreen. THAT is where your flight path intersects the ground. This spot will become more apparent as you lose altitude. If that spot is not on or beyond your intended landing site, then you are not going to make that landing site. PRACTICE: First, make your own drag/glide matrix for your aircraft. This requires a lot of altitude and still air. You will probably have to climb back up after doing the first half of the matrix. So, get your numbers for the prop forward with different configurations starting with clean and then do the same thing with the prop aft. Be sure to stabilize your engine temps to avoid shock cooling at idle. I have also found a number of Legacys are set up on the rich side and will try to quit when pulled to idle for this exercise and also in forced landing patterns. When you practice your forced landing patterns, find an airport without traffic (I know this can be difficult). I have had some success at controlled airports by talking to the tower about the maneuver beforehand and practicing during dead periods. Since the first half of the pattern, from HIGH KEY to LOW KEY, is pretty canned I would recommend starting at the LOW KEY point to save time and wear and tear on your bird. Set yourself up at the LOW KEY position with varying parameters, i.e. high, low, wide, tight, and fly your pattern from there developing your judgment in the forced landing pattern. Terminate your patterns with a low approach and start you initial flare (breaking your high descent rate) at 200=92 or so initially and work your way down as you gain experience and sharpen your judgment. Be very conservative here and DO NOT attempt a landing out of it until you have developed this judgment and have a long runway. Don=92t get distracted and forget to manage your fuel. So, that=92s about it except for my engine failure in the Factory Legacy, N199L. Ernie Sutter and I were returning to Redmond from EAA Golden State. Ernie was on my wing and we were practicing formation. Just South of Bend and around 6000=92 AGL, the oil pressure suddenly dropped to 9 psi. One second later, the engine oversped to around 3800RPM and disintegrated (After removing the cowling, we found a large hole in the top of the engine case and a small one in the side. There were internal engine parts scattered in the engine compartment including a rod that had been twisted 180 degrees). There was smoke in the cockpit and over the canopy and the engine was rattling and shaking badly. I immediately turned 90 degrees left toward Bend airport and called Ernie over to Bend CTAF. Being the good wingman he is, Ernie was already declaring a Mayday on frequency. I set up my glide and secured the engine. I only had enough altitude to do a straight-in and it initially looked like it was going to be close but that I would make it. As I glided lower, it looked like I would make the overrun, then, just short of it in a field. I avoided the temptation to try to stretch my glide (another cause of stall/spins), held the gear until the flare (no flaps) and landed just short of the overrun. Unfortunately, someone had thoughtfully run a trench across the end of the overrun. This sheared the forks and main gear tires from both main gear mounts. I was able to wheelbarrow the Legacy on its nosegear across the overrun, between the runway end lights and on to the runway where it settled on the main gear struts and the tail. 199L was flying a month later. I was very lucky this didn=92t happen over the Mt. Lassen wilderness area we had just flown over a half hour earlier. The lessons I learned were that this will be a complete surprise, it took me a few seconds to realize the situation and analyze how serious it was, secure the aircraft, and set up the glide toward the airport; practicing these patterns helped greatly. The old saying that you fly/fight the way you train is dead on. You don=92t want to do one of these the first time in an actual situation. Well, I guess that=92s it. I know this will elicit a number of comments and I look forward to any positive ideas/comments that others can add to help in the event we are unfortunate enough to find ourselves there. Be careful out there. Bob Jeffrey