Finally! A friend had an engine failure, knew what to do, he and family are unharmed, aircraft will fly again someday. He'll be publishing his story, I'm sure, but here are some gems from his email.
Aviate to Best Glide Speed. Don't turn, don't talk, don't fiddle with the engine controls, just trim the plane to hold Best Glide Speed hands-off, or a speed that holds altitude.
Navigate to a landing site. Identify the best landing site within gliding distance, and turn towards it.
-How do you know how far you can glide? I decided that 10 nm at 10,000' would be a reasonable go/no-go distance, or 1 nm per 1000' of altitude as the thumbrule. I checked that against the C152s, C172s, C177s, C182s, PA28s, S24Rs, and M20Js I flew or taught in, and it seemed to fit all of them nicely.
Fix or Fly: This is a decision point.
-If you're above Traffic Pattern Altitude, then do an Engine Failure flow- in a Complex plane it's GUMPS, in a Cessna it's the Inverted-L.
-If you're below TPA, then don't try to recover the engine, don't do a flow, just focus all your attention on flying the aircraft to a safe landing.
Communicate: You only get to this step if you're above TPA, and the engine recovery attempt has been unsuccessful. This is a confirmed emergency. Here you call ATC and tell them what you're doing, how many with you, and what's wrong.
Aviate to Best Glide Speed. Don't turn, don't talk, don't fiddle with the engine controls, just trim the plane to hold Best Glide Speed hands-off, or a speed that holds altitude.
Navigate to a landing site. Identify the best landing site within gliding distance, and turn towards it.
-How do you know how far you can glide? I decided that 10 nm at 10,000' would be a reasonable go/no-go distance, or 1 nm per 1000' of altitude as the thumbrule. I checked that against the C152s, C172s, C177s, C182s, PA28s, S24Rs, and M20Js I flew or taught in, and it seemed to fit all of them nicely.
Fix or Fly: This is a decision point.
-If you're above Traffic Pattern Altitude, then do an Engine Failure flow- in a Complex plane it's GUMPS, in a Cessna it's the Inverted-L.
-If you're below TPA, then don't try to recover the engine, don't do a flow, just focus all your attention on flying the aircraft to a safe landing.
Communicate: You only get to this step if you're above TPA, and the engine recovery attempt has been unsuccessful. This is a confirmed emergency. Here you call ATC and tell them what you're doing, how many with you, and what's wrong.