Power off landings
I have a little secret that's given me a measure of safety and confidence in dealing with engine failures (simulated or otherwise): Do some glider flying.
Glider pilots learn from the start that engines aren't necessary if you're able to manage energy through different means. Here are a few things I've learned from flying gliders that are also 100% valid when your RV gets quiet:
1) In any steady-state descent, note that there's a spot on the canopy at which the sight picture of the ground is neither rising nor falling as you progress. That's the spot you'll hit if you just continue on your current flight path. The sight line through that spot is your glide angle for the condition of flight.
For your aircraft, it's good to get familiar with this nominal glide angle of the aircraft in a simulated engine out condition at best glide speed. Even with everything ticking away in normal fashion, a good seat-of-the-pants feel for this angle will allow you to judge when you're within gliding distance of a landing location. This is good stuff to know when flying over populated areas, water, trees, or anything else that isn't a flat concrete slab with numbers painted on both ends.
2) Rule #1 for cross-country flying in a glider is to always have a landing spot in mind, and within reach of your current position. It's a great carry-over habit in VFR power flying to have a similar sense of the available landing spots along your route of flight, and whether or not they're within reach.
3) Know your best glide speed. Glider guiders call this "best L over D" (L/D), and it's critically important to fly at this speed to maximize your distance over ground.
In practice, it's important to quickly get to that speed (even if it means a pitching into short climb when the engine quits), because it'll give you the greatest gliding distance and therefore most landing options. The maximum L/D of almost any aircraft occurs with flaps fully retracted.
4) In practicing landings, it's good to develop a feel for how much control you have over glide angle through things like flap deployment and slipping. This enables you to intentionally aim for mid-runway on final and bleed off excess energy when you know you've got the runway made. Coupled with tip #1 above, and some practice, you should be able to consistently and safely make power-off spot landings in VFR conditions. Glider pilots learn that on 1-mile final, you can easily put the glider in the ditch short of the runway, or land 1/2 mile past the far fence, all by controlling the glide angle on final. Our RVs don't have quite so much glide path control, but it's still good know how much is available and how to use it.
Also, for IFR flying with the current crop of experimental autopilots (e.g., the TruTrak units with altitude hold), consider setting the autopilot's minimum airspeed parameter to the best glide speed of the aircraft. This way, if Alt Hold is activated when the engine quits, the autopilot will automatically transition to the best glide angle as the airspeed decays. Who knows if it would ever come to your aid, but it might save your bacon by keeping things stable while you hit Direct To - Nearest on the 430.
Cheers,
Matthew
I have a little secret that's given me a measure of safety and confidence in dealing with engine failures (simulated or otherwise): Do some glider flying.
Glider pilots learn from the start that engines aren't necessary if you're able to manage energy through different means. Here are a few things I've learned from flying gliders that are also 100% valid when your RV gets quiet:
1) In any steady-state descent, note that there's a spot on the canopy at which the sight picture of the ground is neither rising nor falling as you progress. That's the spot you'll hit if you just continue on your current flight path. The sight line through that spot is your glide angle for the condition of flight.
For your aircraft, it's good to get familiar with this nominal glide angle of the aircraft in a simulated engine out condition at best glide speed. Even with everything ticking away in normal fashion, a good seat-of-the-pants feel for this angle will allow you to judge when you're within gliding distance of a landing location. This is good stuff to know when flying over populated areas, water, trees, or anything else that isn't a flat concrete slab with numbers painted on both ends.
2) Rule #1 for cross-country flying in a glider is to always have a landing spot in mind, and within reach of your current position. It's a great carry-over habit in VFR power flying to have a similar sense of the available landing spots along your route of flight, and whether or not they're within reach.
3) Know your best glide speed. Glider guiders call this "best L over D" (L/D), and it's critically important to fly at this speed to maximize your distance over ground.
In practice, it's important to quickly get to that speed (even if it means a pitching into short climb when the engine quits), because it'll give you the greatest gliding distance and therefore most landing options. The maximum L/D of almost any aircraft occurs with flaps fully retracted.
4) In practicing landings, it's good to develop a feel for how much control you have over glide angle through things like flap deployment and slipping. This enables you to intentionally aim for mid-runway on final and bleed off excess energy when you know you've got the runway made. Coupled with tip #1 above, and some practice, you should be able to consistently and safely make power-off spot landings in VFR conditions. Glider pilots learn that on 1-mile final, you can easily put the glider in the ditch short of the runway, or land 1/2 mile past the far fence, all by controlling the glide angle on final. Our RVs don't have quite so much glide path control, but it's still good know how much is available and how to use it.
Also, for IFR flying with the current crop of experimental autopilots (e.g., the TruTrak units with altitude hold), consider setting the autopilot's minimum airspeed parameter to the best glide speed of the aircraft. This way, if Alt Hold is activated when the engine quits, the autopilot will automatically transition to the best glide angle as the airspeed decays. Who knows if it would ever come to your aid, but it might save your bacon by keeping things stable while you hit Direct To - Nearest on the 430.
Cheers,
Matthew
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