Choosing your take-off...

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Choosing your take-off...

Postby Fozzer » Fri May 03, 2013 10:25 am

How do you do it?.... ;) ...!

http://www.avweb.com/news/leadingedge/l ... 240-1.html

Paul.... :D ...!
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Re: Choosing your take-off...

Postby beaky » Fri May 03, 2013 7:50 pm

I realize it's not a factor in simulation (unless you enable failures), but it bothers me that no mention of emergency procedures is mentioned in the article. Ideally, you want to be aware of your options at that airport, should you lose power on climbout or have some other problem that dictates aborting the climb to cruise altitude. What lies beyond the airport fence? It only matters if your takeoff goes wrong, but boy, does it matter then!!

When training for my PPASEL, this was only touched upon, and other than the basics, I never gave it much thought flying powered aircraft. But flying gliders (where the lack of thrust can make things interesting if the launch goes awry) has really driven this home for me. Before the roll begins, I recite aloud what I will do if separation from the towplane occurs before or after the altitude where I can safely turn around and land downwind. If a turnaround is possible, it needs to be into the wind, so the direction of turn is decided even before the glider starts moving. I also note where I intend to land, whether a turnaround is possible or not.
It helps to know the environs of your home 'drome well, but you can at least keep the basics in mind when taking off anywhere: know the minimum altitude AGL from which you can execute a 180 and land safely, be sure to first lower the nose whether you are at that height or not, be looking for a survivable landing area as you climb out, etc.

Other than emergencies, though, in general, flying power I prefer to treat every runway as a short runway, just to be in the habit of getting the most out of the airplane. Got flaps? Use them. Gusty winds may require a little extra airspeed, but in general I like to be as high as I can by the time I run out of runway.
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