Photos from NY and Fl.

[Former Member]

Im a pi;ot and was an instructor and since you are a long time pilot, you know that to say... "it really doesn't matter what altitude you are at if you are not trained for a forced landing or engine out. You can be at 10000' and have an engine out, and if you don't know where a suitable place to land would be, you're in big trouble." Is not a sensible statement to make about a pilot, because ALL pilots should be able to handle an engine out situation as they should have been trained to do just that. It is part of the training and should be practiced often throughout any pilot's flying life.

All pilots should be paying attention to what they are flying over and picking out suitable landing spots all around them as their flight progresses because they were trained to do that just like they were trained to check the Ps and Ts on climb out. Therefore, there should never be a situation whereby a pilot is at any altitude including your 10,000 ft mentioned, and not be trained to pick a spot to land and get it down in there. Altitude is your friend when you have an engine out, you know that. Yes many pilots get laxed and don't practice engine out situations as they age, but that is their own fault, that is not how they were trained.

It would be like saying no matter if you are driving at 40mph or 150mph, if you are not looking at the road, but have your eyes on your phone texting, you will be having a nasty crash. Sure, some people do that but that is not how they were trained to drive. Regarding flight, I am speaking of what a pilot was trained to do and is expected to do during flight. There should legally be no pilot up in the sky who was not trained for a forced landing, or who was not paying attention to emergency landing spots.

Those who have not practiced such a scenario continuously during their flying life and those not paying attention to the ground, will all pay the price when such a situation comes up. It is just not a thing that pilots are told is okay to do, to fly low over water and think that engine will always be spinning their prop. Many may do it but it is not a safe, nor sensible thing to do. I was just commenting on flying low over water, that was mentioned in this thread, so that other non pilots did not think this is something that we all do on a regular basis. The prop is only there to spin and keep a pilot cool because when it stops, they all begin to sweat!

Altitude might be your friend, but if you are flying at 400' because the law says you have to, you have no choice. You can bring adequate flotation devices, and also practice your swimming beforehand. The low rate of engine failures, and minuscule % of small aircraft going down vs. the number of flights and flight hours, gives people confidence that their plane will NOT go down. The risks involved with with recreational aviation are there, but most pilots never dwell on them, otherwise they would never leave the ground.

Training/practice and reality are 2 different things. How a pilot reacts to a critical situation will largely depend on his training, but there is no substitute for the real thing. Simulators can prepare you, but its how you react in the situation is what matters.

You can call anyone who flies over water "unsensible," but the reality is that people have, do, and will continue to do what makes them happy. After crossing the Pacific 100+ times, I can say that until the airplane lands and I hear the screech of the wheels on the runway, Im not comfortable.

 

[Drbobk]

Did you fly over the LI Sound?

Yes. Whenever I flew across the sound, it was at an altitude that allowed me to glide to the shoreline and then some. Same thing flying to Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

I haven’t flown in a while, but back then student pilots weren’t allowed into the TRSA., and going around it didn’t seem very practical either. After I got my license, I went to through the airspace at whatever altitude they told me to. Much easier, and less worrisome!

 

[Cymruflyer]

I don't dispute any of that Thunderdrones, and if you read what I said, it is flying low over water, unless you have no option, that is the non sensible thing to be doing or over a wooded area that leaves you no option. Sure most pilots have never experienced a real engine out, however, everyone that has had that happen, most probably also thought that it would never happen to them. No matter how miniscule, it is going to happen to someone, and if you prepare and practice for it, when it does happen, hopefully, thanks to that practice and thought, it may well be a non event.

The ones that thought about it during their flying and had a plan in mind, as per their training, are most likely the ones that came out of it okay. Others did as well, I'm sure, who were not so prepared, due to luck, but there are again others, who have died and in some instances, may have had a chance at living through it, had they been more prepared for such a situation or possibly not been willfully flying where they were. And of course I am not speaking about an engine out that had no chance of a safe outcome due to other circumstances we are not aware of.

Sure the event is a miniscule percent but so is a car accident and most of us have been driving for years without one. And for most, it is because they are driving with due care and attention to traffic and weather. We all know flying is inherently risky, but if you take steps each flight, to minimize your risk as much as possible, most of us get to hear those wheels screech in on touch down and get to go home another night.

I am not saying pilots should be thinking about all the terrible things that could happen, I am saying it is best to always minimide your risks when you choose to go flying. You know the saying, there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilot. I would change that to say there are rarely old and bold pilots.

You have been flying all these years because you have been a consistently safety conscious pilot, flying with respect to your aircraft, its performance, your ability level and respect for the weather or you may just be darn lucky, but I feel it is not the luck part. Sure most long time pilots have also experienced a little bit of luck in there at one time or another too but it is all the rest mentioned that has kept them alive all this time and I hope to see you flying that way and keeping safe all your flying life. I'm sure like me, over the years you have seen pilots that make you think... that is just a statistic waiting to be tallied into a category, at some point in the future.

 

[Former Member]

Yes. Whenever I flew across the sound, it was at an altitude that allowed me to glide to the shoreline and then some. Same thing flying to Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

I haven’t flown in a while, but back then student pilots weren’t allowed into the TRSA., and going around it didn’t seem very practical either. After I got my license, I went to through the airspace at whatever altitude they told me to. Much easier, and less worrisome!

I bet you and I crossed (flight) paths at some point in time. We used to go to Block Island and MV regularly. I also liked going to the Danbury fair, which required a trip over the sound. That was back when it was still a fair and not a shopping mall!

If we had a strong headwind, we would abort the Block Island trip and stop at Montauk and call it a day. I miss flying up there.

 

[Cymruflyer]

The scary thing was flying at night because you could not see what was below should the engine stop. I used to tell a student that if the engine stopped during a night flight, they should turn off the landing light and keep it off until about 100ft above the ground, then turn it on. If you liked what you saw, just land the plane, if you did not like what you saw, just turn the light off!

 

[Former Member]

The scary thing was flying at night because you could not see what was below should the engine stop. I used to tell a student that if the engine stopped during a night flight, they should turn off the landing light and keep it off until about 100ft above the ground, then turn it on. If you liked what you saw, just land the plane, if you did not like what you saw, just turn the light off!

Did you enjoy teaching? Many pilots use CFI as an avenue to the big leagues, but thats a long road.

We should start a new thread about recreational aircraft experience.

 

[Former Member]

I used to tell a student that if the engine stopped during a night flight, they should turn off the landing light and keep it off until about 100ft above the ground, then turn it on. If you liked what you saw, just land the plane, if you did not like what you saw, just turn the light off!

Thats funny!

 

[Drbobk]

My first instructor, who owned the FBO (if that’s what it was) at Rensselaer County, was killed before I got my license doing something he always warned me not to do. “If the weather is bad, don’t land here, go to Albany. I know your car is here and it’s inconvenient, but just do it.“ And then he tried getting into that small cinder strip with hills and wires all around in crappy weather. It was a powerful lesson. When I went back to flying, my instructor stressed emergency landings often. Once he let me get so low that I thought he was actually going to let me/force me to land in the Jones Beach parking lot that I had set up as my emergency landing area. (It was winter.)

 

[Former Member]

My first instructor, who owned the FBO (if that’s what it was) at Rensselaer County, was killed before I got my license doing something he always warned me not to do. “If the weather is bad, don’t land here, go to Albany. I know your car is here and it’s inconvenient, but just do it.“ And then he tried getting into that small cinder strip with hills and wires all around in crappy weather. It was a powerful lesson. When I went back to flying, my instructor stressed emergency landings often. Once he let me get so low that I thought he was actually going to let me/force me to land in the Jones Beach parking lot that I had set up as my emergency landing area. (It was winter.)

Thats one situation where you hope your instructor didnt fall asleep! Can I go around? Can I go around? Wake up!

 

[Drbobk]

Thats one situation where you hope your instructor didnt fall asleep! Can I go around? Can I go around? Wake up!

He was very good at surreptitiously turning off the fuel, and then asking you to make an adjustment (carb heat...) at just the right time so that when you touched something, the engine died.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Did you enjoy teaching? Many pilots use CFI as an avenue to the big leagues, but thats a long road.

We should start a new thread about recreational aircraft experience.

For the most part, I loved it, I still remember the many times on a gorgeous day, that I would be sitting there looking down on a beautiful earth and think... wow, I am actually being paid to be up here and experiencing all this. But looking back, there were a few students that I would hope something like golf or anything else other than flying, would take their fancy more. One day should we meet, I will look forward to a chat for hours, about flying escaped.

I can tell you one thing, only time in the seat helps to keep an instructor alive, for those who have had the student from hell. From a few I have had who froze on the controls, (always on climb out, or on finals) had I not had the time under my belt, we might not be here to talk about it. I think to myself that had that situation presented itself say, in my first few months as a wet behind the ears instructor, I may not have been ready for it and may not have been able to get us out of it.

It was always a nice feeling to see a student go off on his solo and do a great job of flying and make what may have been his best landing ever. It was always a nice felling thinking of all those pilots I helped to achieve the gift of flight. I can recall my instructor still and remember the immense appreciation I felt and still do, for what he taught and enabled me to do. I always treasure that ability and never take it for granted. Only someone who has been through that can really appreciate what a wonderful thing it is to be able to fly themselves. There is nothing that compares to being up there and looking down on the earth.

I have had several past students call me up and tell me about a situation in the air that made them quickly sit up and pay attention and tell me, suddenly your voice came back into my head and helped me handle the situation to get safely back on the ground. It was nice to know they were paying attention all those hours. It was also nice to be able to correct a problem in a student, that had been allowed to set in, by a previous instructor, and set them on a renewed confident path into aviation. I still love to fly, every chance I get, which is less now, and probably always will.

 

[Former Member]

He was very good at surreptitiously turning off the fuel, and then asking you to make an adjustment (carb heat...) at just the right time so that when you touched something, the engine died.

He probably stayed awake at night trying to think of evil ways to torture his students.

 

[Former Member]

For the most part, I loved it, I still remember the many times on a gorgeous day, that I would be sitting there looking down on a beautiful earth and think... wow, I am actually being paid to be up here and experiencing all this. But looking back, there were a few students that I would hope something like golf or anything else other than flying, would take their fancy more. One day should we meet, I will look forward to a chat for hours, about flying escaped.

I can tell you one thing, only time in the seat helps to keep an instructor alive, for those who have had the student from ****. From a few I have had who froze on the controls, (always on climb out, or on finals) had I not had the time under my belt, we might not be here to talk about it. I think to myself that had that situation presented itself say, in my first few months as a wet behind the ears instructor, I may not have been ready for it and may not have been able to get us out of it.

It was always a nice feeling to see a student go off on his solo and do a great job of flying and make what may have been his best landing ever. It was always a nice felling thinking of all those pilots I helped to achieve the gift of flight. I can recall my instructor still and remember the immense appreciation I felt and still do, for what he taught and enabled me to do. I always treasure that ability and never take it for granted. Only someone who has been through that can really appreciate what a wonderful thing it is to be able to fly themselves. There is nothing that compares to being up there and looking down on the earth.

I have had several past students call me up and tell me about a situation in the air that made them quickly sit up and pay attention and tell me, suddenly your voice came back into my head and helped me handle the situation to get safely back on the ground. It was nice to know they were paying attention all those hours. It was also nice to be able to correct a problem in a student, that had been allowed to set in, by a previous instructor, and set them on a renewed confident path into aviation. I still love to fly, every chance I get, which is less now, and probably always will.

Must be rewarding to look back on. You should teach people to fly drones. I get my jollies doing it, and now get more pleasure out of teaching people to fly, and teaching Litchi, than I do flying myself. Flying for me has become rote.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Must be rewarding to look back on. You should teach people to fly drones. I get my jollies doing it, and now get more pleasure out of teaching people to fly, and teaching Litchi, than I do flying myself. Flying for me has become rote.

I have to get that good myself still, before even thinking of teaching someone else. I am comfortable but still have a lot to learn.

 

[Former Member]

I have to get that good myself still, before even thinking of teaching someone else. I am comfortable but still have a lot to learn.

I find that full scale pilots are the best drone pilots. Especially CFI's. CFI's will always err on the side of caution, and have learned how to instinctively discern whether or not the aircraft and situation is safe to fly in. I guess it comes from getting scared to death by your students so many times.

 

[Porky]

I find that full scale pilots are the best drone pilots.

Oi you... what about little ol me, I’m a brilliant drone pilot, always fly above 400ft, get myself noticed at Christmas flying around Gatwick, never brake the drone laws.

I dunno, you real pilots all stick together don’t ya????

 

[Porky]

Right, not gonna be left out, I’ve just booked up some flying lessons, I’ll soon be in your club??

 

[Drbobk]

Right, not gonna be left out, I’ve just booked up some flying lessons, I’ll soon be in your club??

Ha! Ronald doing the ET thing...

 

[Porky]

Ha! Ronald doing the ET thing...

Just trying to get my wings which hopefully make will me a better drone pilot???

 

[Former Member]

I dunno, you real pilots all stick together don’t ya????

Actually we all dislike eachother immensely, but its important to keep up the facade!