I have been having this discussion with my powered airplane flight instructor. In Arizona. Is the desert with shrubs or a plowed field preferred for an emergency off airport landing?
Land on desert or fields in Arizona
- Thread starter PeterNSteinmetz
- Start date
My first inclination is to go with a plowed field, ideally parallel to the plowed direction. A plowed field will have had rocks removed and be evened out for tractors to move over. None of that is true of virgin terrain having shrubs, even when the shrubs are not collision hazards.
fcalbright
New member
IMO it's difficult to have a firm answer to this one. A plowed field should be rock-free and reasonably flat (i.e., no arroyos). However, plowed fields are softer which could lead to landing gears digging in and going inverted. Open desert will probably provide a firmer surface. However, there can be obstacles unseen from altitude. And, arroyos or washes could be disastrous. On the whole, I'd prefer landing parallel to the furrows on a plowed field. I guess the underlying question is what's within gliding distance?
I've been in a plane that landed-out on a plowed field - in a SGS 2-33A on July 26, 2008. I was a student pilot, front seat, with CFII in back seat. CFII was short and couldn't see the altimeter or airspeed indicator from her position. We were towed north from OG48, a grass field in Oregon. Had a pretty good head wind. Plan was for a simulated rope break at 200 ft, then circle back to land. Not an impossible turn for a glider. Anyway, I released a bit higher than planned. By the time I turned us around we were high and in close because of the headwind, which was now a strong tailwind. My attempts at slipping were still hesitant and sloppy. We were not going to be able to land at the takeoff field. The CFII took over and had me call out the airspeed while we overflew the airfield and landed in the plowed field south of Herman road. There were a lot of stubbles left on the field but in any case we landed OK. We could be seen from Interstate 5 and nearby roads, so we stood near the glider and tried to look like things were OK. Occasional smiling wave to a passing car. No point getting the authorities involved. We eventually got the glider towed back to OG48 behind a lawn tractor with the CFII and myself supporting each wingtip.
I'm not sure there was much to learn from that episode - other than at no time was I frightened. A couple of my thoughts were "This should be interesting," and "ha, don't think a go-around is a possibility!"
I'm not sure there was much to learn from that episode - other than at no time was I frightened. A couple of my thoughts were "This should be interesting," and "ha, don't think a go-around is a possibility!"
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