Interesting checkride stories

[sarangan]

Carb ice?

That's what carb heat is for.

But one could argue that carb heat won't produce much heat when engine is fully idling; that would then support the case for flying the pattern with a higher power setting (ie out of gliding range, which is the opposite argument).

 

[brcase]

I never understood this obsession about engine failing in the traffic pattern. Why is it more likely to fail in the landing traffic pattern than during cruise?

As a flight instructor there are some days that I might spend nearly 8 hours in the traffic pattern. My chances of a power failure in the traffic pattern may be higher than the average pilot.

2nd.if you can get to the pattern after a power failure, if you practice it, then you know you can put the plane on the runway. Is essentially a required maneuver for Commercial Pilots. It is exactly the same procedure for an emergency landing away from the airport. If possible fly a downwind and/or at least a base leg for your emergency if possible to keep the landing procedure as normal as possible.

3rd. It is pretty much the only place we can practice simulated power failures and let you fly it to the ground.

I have personally seen two airplanes have a power failure at my home airport(KMAN) and not Make the runway.
Remember the Cherokee in a tree behind the Learn to fly sign? That was a power failure in the pattern also.

Brian
CFIIG

 

[Zeek]

I left the oil door open on the C-172 I used for my check ride. We were in, strapped, preflight brief done, engine running when I noticed. I shut down the engine. Got out, closed it and got back in with a very sheepish look on my face. The DPE laughed. I did bust the ride, but this wasn't why...

I was doing my preflight, and the DPE interjected and asked me to dip the tanks (out of my usual order) a minute or two later he had me asked how much oil I had (also out of my normal order. After the preflight, he is strapped in ready to go and he asks me if all of my preflight action were completed and I was ready to fly the plane as it was? Something about the way he asked me that struck me, so I slowly walked backwards from the plane about 15’ and noticed that I had left the oil door open. I slyly went and closed it. I laughed, he didn’t. Not a great start.


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[MauleSkinner]

I have personally seen two airplanes have a power failure at my home airport(KMAN) and not Make the runway.

I have personally seen two airplanes where the pilots were so fixated on making the runway that they ignored suitable areas immediately adjacent and destroyed the airplanes.

 

[kaiser]

As a flight instructor there are some days that I might spend nearly 8 hours in the traffic pattern. My chances of a power failure in the traffic pattern may be higher than the average pilot.

2nd.if you can get to the pattern after a power failure, if you practice it, then you know you can put the plane on the runway. Is essentially a required maneuver for Commercial Pilots. It is exactly the same procedure for an emergency landing away from the airport. If possible fly a downwind and/or at least a base leg for your emergency if possible to keep the landing procedure as normal as possible.

3rd. It is pretty much the only place we can practice simulated power failures and let you fly it to the ground.

I have personally seen two airplanes have a power failure at my home airport(KMAN) and not Make the runway.
Remember the Cherokee in a tree behind the Learn to fly sign? That was a power failure in the pattern also.

Brian
CFIIG

During my primary, I had instructors pull power within easy glide of an airport (like from 4000 AGL or something) only for me to screw it up in the pattern. I almost never made the runway. The lesson was to set yourself up to the landing spot (even at an airport) on a downwind and pull a power off 180 landing.

I found my emergency landings became instantly better (much better than a shrug and picking a field)

 

[sarangan]

As a flight instructor there are some days that I might spend nearly 8 hours in the traffic pattern. My chances of a power failure in the traffic pattern may be higher than the average pilot.

2nd.if you can get to the pattern after a power failure, if you practice it, then you know you can put the plane on the runway. Is essentially a required maneuver for Commercial Pilots. It is exactly the same procedure for an emergency landing away from the airport. If possible fly a downwind and/or at least a base leg for your emergency if possible to keep the landing procedure as normal as possible.

3rd. It is pretty much the only place we can practice simulated power failures and let you fly it to the ground.

I have personally seen two airplanes have a power failure at my home airport(KMAN) and not Make the runway.
Remember the Cherokee in a tree behind the Learn to fly sign? That was a power failure in the pattern also.

Brian
CFIIG

Your points are all perfectly vaild. A typical private pilot, however, is not going to be in the pattern more than once during a cross country. He is also not likely to be doing performance manuevers like spot landing or lazy eights during these flights. They do have proficiency value, however. There are some who argue that single engine pistons have no business flying in IMC, at night, in mountainous terrain, or over water, just as they should never be beyond gliding range in a traffic pattern. My only point was that these are excessively conservative limits. If fear of engine failure is constantly on someone's mind, then it might be better to take up a different hobby. There are times if the engine quits the outcome is going to be pretty bad. That's just the nature of flying. We make reasonable efforts to minimize that exposure, but we cannot eliminate it.