That's one of the things that bothers me about discussions like these: nobody seems to have much of a plan to account for those other factors. I only know of one instructor who has worked out a pre-takeoff protocol to account for wind, runway length, and the actual climb and glide performance of the airplane being used.
I had that beat into me by instructor number three, or maybe four, and I thank him for it every time I see him.
Takeoff is a serious time in an airplane. If you don’t know those details including your aircraft’s stopping distance, you shouldn’t be pushing the throttle forward yet. And it should be on a TOLD sheet or briefed out loud on any unfamiliar runway and known cold on any familiar one if not briefed.
This was then reinforced by flying twins. Not knowing your takeoff numbers is a really stupid way to die in a twin. You need to know just how bad your off airport excursion is going to be and what the softest options ahead are.
I can’t say my methods keep track of glide performance, but everything else you mentioned is known.
If you haven’t seen a TOLD sheet, shame on your instructor. (Hint: It stands for TakeOff and Landing Data).
Some may call it other things. Some may just do it and not call it anything. There’s at least one local club here that you aren’t going flying unless you filled one out and left a copy at the front counter. Theirs has some other data for finding you and knowing your overall plan, but it’s no different than doing it professionally with data from dispatch.
It proves you had to at least partially get your head in the game a few minutes before they hand you the keys.
One other point.
Real fear/panic induces a general clumsiness. Even in a simulator, once the Cirrus began to spin, even getting the cover off the CAPS handle was difficult for me.
I think what often happens is that in the primal urge to get back down, clumsiness in the feet leads to a strong unconscious tendency to hurry the turn with rudder, leading to a skid and setting up the spin scenario.
A scenario that plays out with sickening regularity.
In an adrenaline dump, one of the first things to go is fine motor skill. I’m sure you kno this is well known and covered in classes from self defense to shooting, but it is rarely mentioned in Aviation circles.
You won’t be able to pull the tiny pin on the fire extinguisher for example, without significant concentration on it. More than you think you should need. Once you’ve experienced it you know how frustrating it is.
All base to final spins happen between 300 - 400 ft AGL.
No. Not all. Probably not even a majority.
There’s sad videos out there of a number of them, and frankly, the setup usually is that the aircraft is low when making the turn, and the pilot steps on inside rudder trying to speed up the turn. 300-400 AGL they haven’t started to panic yet when turning final, usually.
There’s a very strong feeling that you shouldn’t be pushing the throttle up for a go-around when you’re turning. I don’t know why this is, but many pilots say this. Of course, you should absolutely be doing it by then, if you’re that low. But pilots will consistently wait until they finish the turn and line up before announcing they’re going around because the approach sucks. If it sucks lined up at 100’ AGL too low, it sucked a long time before that. Go around and fix it.
want to know.
