June 22 - Precautionary
It was a hazy day, which is actually pretty realistic practice for precautionary landings, which -- in real life -- might come about as a result of weather closing in. It was also nice because it meant there was less traffic, none, actually, allowing us to just focus on the procedure rather than deciphering the cryptic radios calls that generally come fast and furious on a nice day out in the practice area.
The main difference between a precautionary and a forced landing is the engine. With the former, you have some power, with the latter, you have none. This means that with a precautionary landing, one generally has more time, so a proper field can be selected and inspected, using the COWLs method (Civilization, Obstacles, Wind direction and Length of runway).
With both, however, radio calls still need to be made and passenger's briefed. Soft field technique is generally used, so unlike a forced, where the engine must be secured before landing (red-metal-metal-red), with a precautionary landing, this is at the discretion of the pilot, depending on the conditions.
One thing I seemed to be doing, as with my forced practise last weekend, was crowing the field! I really noticed this when we went back home, and I flew a normal circuit -- my downwind seemed SO FAR AWAY from the runway!!! I'll have to remember, in future, to give myself more space!
I did make the field nicely, though, and it's clear I've become quite comfortable with slipping now, to get down if/when needed.
The main difference between a precautionary and a forced landing is the engine. With the former, you have some power, with the latter, you have none. This means that with a precautionary landing, one generally has more time, so a proper field can be selected and inspected, using the COWLs method (Civilization, Obstacles, Wind direction and Length of runway).
With both, however, radio calls still need to be made and passenger's briefed. Soft field technique is generally used, so unlike a forced, where the engine must be secured before landing (red-metal-metal-red), with a precautionary landing, this is at the discretion of the pilot, depending on the conditions.
One thing I seemed to be doing, as with my forced practise last weekend, was crowing the field! I really noticed this when we went back home, and I flew a normal circuit -- my downwind seemed SO FAR AWAY from the runway!!! I'll have to remember, in future, to give myself more space!
I did make the field nicely, though, and it's clear I've become quite comfortable with slipping now, to get down if/when needed.