Well last months writings had not even hit the paper when our outstanding editor's mind was wondering, "what if"? Truly gentlemen and ladies, that is why this column is written so that we daydream and think about these things on the ground instead of daydreaming while we are in the actual dilemma. I simplified the checklist of the engine failure last month to the typical basic book answers. Remember first to FLY the airplane.

AVIATIONISMS #1 - Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding it. Courtesy of Gale D. In Champaign, IL after a college football game the family of one of the opposing team's players jumped into their Piper Navajo (twin-engine six passenger aircraft) to fly back to Iowa. On take-off the left engine quit. How do we know? Because the good ole boy pilot picked up the microphone and told the tower everything that was going on while the plane flew into the ground. They never got above 200 feet above the ground. What happened? Nobody was FLYING the airplane! GLIDE Probably the most important thing to do. Survivability of the airship, trimmed up to the best glide speed, will be better than a high speed return to the ground or the low speed/high sink rate return. Either way you're going to return. You choose the speed. Choose wisely!

As Captain Sparr mention about last month's article my student in the Cessna 172 cruising at 7,500 feet from Peoria, IL to Chicago did not have an emergency until I turned off the fuel selector. This man's big problem was not having a clue what to do next. He communicated to me to fix it. What happens if I am not there??? Who IS flying the airplane? Now that we know the rest of the story of this flight let us “wonder” about several other areas that can be looked deeper into. With 7,000 feet of altitude above ground level (agl) we have TIME. In fact we probably have up to 10 minutes before we will touch down. WHAT IF: We saw a wing fuel tank collapsed or rippled? The fuel vent for that fuel tank could be clogged and fuel will not flow.

WHAT IF: We had water in that tank. The engine may sputter but usually it just quits.
WHAT IF: the fuel gauge was wrong. Many accidents are FUEL STARVATION incidents. Starvation means that there is fuel on the airplane (in another tank) but we are not getting it to the engine. This was the cause of an Oshkosh Grand Champion Aircraft to land in a field during the photo shoot of the airplane during convention week. Mud daubers clogged his fuel quantity sight line and he ran out of fuel thought the fuel sight line indicated fuel in that tank.
WHAT IF: We were in ice and the air filter was restricted or collapsed. There was a problem with air filters collapsing. Now there is a wire bracket around them so they keep there shape.
WHAT IF: You saw fuel seeping out past the fuel cap? On some airplanes fuel is returned to a fuel tank from the fuel pump. Bad fuel cap seal? Bad fuel vent? Cold airplane and warm fuel! This is what happened to a Doctor driven Bonanza flying out of Spirit Airport. He put down at Washington Memorial scratching his head. As the fuel cap was opened the fuel came pouring out.
WHAT IF: The airplane is equipped with a spring that pulls the throttle lever to full power should the throttle cable break. If we had the fuel mixture set for 55% power and the engine throttle snaps to the full throttle open position, the engine may quit due to a lean mixture.
WHAT IF: We want to land with the above mentioned full throttle engine running? What if we leave the mixture RICH and shut off the magnetos? The propeller will still windmill (that means keep turning for the sailplane pilots). As we glide down and set up for the longest airport runway we can find (remember we have two power settings ON and OFF) if we need power we can turn the magnetos to ON and that will get us full power for as long as we desire it. UPON LANDING GET TOWED OFF THE RUNWAY. I DO NOT THINK THE LINE GUYS WILL APPRECIATE YOU TAXING AT THEM WITH FULL POWER!!!
WHAT IF: We can not restart the engine. We now want to extend our glide the maximum distance.
Which causes more drag, a spinning propeller or one that has stopped turning? The prop that is stopped has the least drag. So we can raise the nose of the airplane to lose airspeed which will cause the propeller to stop before the airplane stalls. Now you are a glider. Just in case we might land hard or are going to land with the landing gear up (remember the engine has quit, and you may not be able to get the gear down), hit the starter and turn the prop blades horizontal. This way if we do collapse a nose gear (fixed gear airship) we will save the prop from a ground strike and save us from having to overhaul the engine. Well as you can see there can be a lot of things to get wrapped around the axle with as we are GLIDING to our next destination. Run the checklist once. Look for obvious clues. Then just set up for the landing and FLY the airplane.
WHAT IF: We have a radio and transponder. Well dialing in 121.5 MHz these days and broadcasting will get you some instant attention. Remember do not drop the airplane to talk on that microphone. Tell them who you are and where you are at. Short and sweet. Also remember that just because you can not hear anything on the radio does not mean you are not broadcasting. At college an instructor turned down the radio volume (that only adjusts the cabin speaker volume) and had the student practice his Mayday call on the radio. Needless to say the search helicopters came a-looking for that troubled airplane. Broadcast your location as best you can. Nowadays with a transponder you can just squawk 7700 and the global satellites will start looking for you. Remember to FLY the airplane.

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