You see a plane coming at you with seconds to react.

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

May the force be with you
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Let's say perpendicular at a right angle from whichever side.

You don't have time to get it wrong.

Push? Pull?

I am thinking push. I would guess most people's knee jerk reaction would be to pull up.
If you both take the same action, you collide.

What about head on? Supposed to bank right correct?
Bank and climb?

What say POA?
 
I'd at least turn my landing light on and bank up and away from the first scenario (higher chance to see you wing up) and bank right on the second. Birds? I always pull because they have a tendency to dive.
 
If you bank, you present a larger cross section to the other airplane.

In a fast plane, you can climb FAST from cruise if you let the speed drop down to, say, best glide. A few hundred feet in a few seconds is not hard. Descending is more dicey; do it in a hurry and you can overspeed.

Odds are, you will NOT see each other at exactly the same time.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I am thinking push. I would guess most people's knee jerk reaction would be to pull up
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I am with you. Pilot's instinct should be top pull up as birds dive...so assuming the other pilot is not gonna anticipate what I am gonna do I am diving hopefully while he pulls up.

I have had two VERY close calls...both times I dove.
 
Actually had a scenario like this happen before. I was with a CFI and we were flying north bound and had an aircraft flying east to west approach us. It was less than one mile to our 2-2:30 position. CFI called "traffic traffic" and reduced power, dove and turned away. Worked well.
 
I'd have to agree with "dive", as I would think most people's reaction would be to pull up. Hopefully I don't have this encounter with one of you, now that I wrote this :eek:.

The odds of overspeeding a fliver in a few seconds of a dive are minimal, and I'd take that risk.

For birds, always pull up, as their reaction is to descend.
 
Scenario 1:
First: Make sure the GoPro is recording so you have a great video to share on POA.
Second: Record a pithy comment so everyone will know how chill you are in the face of certain death.
Third: Sorry, there probably won't be a third. Not for you.

Scenario 2:
Pull hard, and to the right.
Or:
Push hard, and to the right.
Depending on your situation.

PS: If the GoPro survives, we will give you the honors you deserve. After all, this is POA.
 
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Never been that close with airplanes but the two close (50ft) calls in helos, I've pulled. Mostly because the aircraft responds a heck of a lot faster in a pull than a zero G auto.

If you're that close, just do something aggressive without overstressing your aircraft. You can't worry about what the other aircraft is doing. They might not even see you in the first place.
 
Too close for missiles, switching to guns. :D

 
Okay now that everybody on this board is going to die, I'm going to change my answer. I'm going to pull up

Edit dive not die I hate this phone. I mean everyone on the board is going to die. But not at the same time
 
Pull. Most planes are rated for more positive than negative g's. At normal cruise speed you probably wont pull hard enough to stall, even at 3-4g's. If you go negative 3-4gs you might break something.
Also i would rather collide my underside/prop with his cabin than have his prop/belly slice thru my cabin/head.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Okay now that everybody on this board is going to die, I'm going to change my answer. I'm going to pull up

Edit dive not die I hate this phone. I mean everyone on the board is going to die. But not at the same time
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is
 
I can only tell you what I did the only time it was close enough to care. One day while flying I suddenly noticed a twin engine airplane coming almost head on but moving slightly left to my right at the same altitude. I could see the face of the guy and we both saw each other about the same time. He stayed level went to his left. I dove to my left basically a split S without going inverted. Now if we were truly head on we should have both altered to the right but we weren't exactly head on and I did what felt right at the time.
 
Shawn said:
I am with you. Pilot's instinct should be top pull up as birds dive...so assuming the other pilot is not gonna anticipate what I am gonna do I am diving hopefully while he pulls up.

I have had two VERY close calls...both times I dove.
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If I see it's Shawn, I'll pull up.
 
Birds will dive out of the way and they've been flying a lot longer than me so they must know better; and if the instinct is to pull, your odds are better if you push... Right?
 
No one here has mentioned the easiest and most obvious solution. Pull off the side of the road and wait for the traffic to pass. Geesh!
 
Like others have said, most people naturally pull, so I'd plan on pushing.
 
And if your not WOT and at least 120KIAS indicated at the merge, you're a sissy....:D


Plus if you pull up & roll into his direction of travel, you should be able to roll out and dive on him with guns...
 
had a similar situation few lessons back, not that close though, ATC called in with wandering traffic from the east, we were going North at 2-3 mile same alt, my CFI put a 20 degree left back and dove, telling ATC that we are doing an emergency descent. i didnt even see the damn plane
 
I would call my cousin Lester Bubba....







'Cause he ain't seen no plane crash like the one were gonna have.....
 
I learned to just turn right. Am I dead? Maybe.

Push down and to the right is maybe better than pulling up and right? Due to stress or stall/spin? No clue.

14 CFR 91.113 (e) When aircraft are approaching each other head-on, or nearly so, each pilot of each aircraftshall alter course to the right.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I learned to just turn right. Am I dead? Maybe.

Push down and to the right is maybe better than pulling up and right? Due to stress or stall/spin? No clue.

14 CFR 91.113 (e) When aircraft are approaching each other head-on, or nearly so, each pilot of each aircraftshall alter course to the right.
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You react to aircraft where they are, not where regs say they should be.

IMO, it's not a great idea to turn when the bogey is very close. It's OK if you can complete the turn before he crosses your path. A 36 foot wingspan when level presents a few square feet of target to the bogey. When 60 deg wings up, it's closer to 100 square feet. Similar equations work for the elevator, and the rest of the airplane doesn't change.
 
Loose sight, loose fight; you are now in air combat for a second or two; if he's at a right angle, no relative motion, roll into him, and do what you have to to keep him in sight, pulling or, probably, pushing. You're gonna catch his attention (if he's looking) by generating relative motion - that's the good stuff that your peripheral vision notices. If he keeps droning on, wind your turn up, and throw him to the outside of your turn. After he passes, right or left, roll back, original heading, just to find him again.

Head on, I'm guessing I'd pull hard, then roll left - hoping whatever he does will be at a different rate and in a different plane. It worked for me with a CAP 182 G1000 pilot head-down-and-locked. Then again, he never saw me, never maneuvered.

We (GA)aircraft are generally not/not very maneuverable in the vertical plane - we just don't go up (or down) very fast. If you are more aggressive in your altitude change than the average bear, that will probably serve. You get some relative motion established, and an aggressive altitude change, you'll probably survive.
 
If a collision is imminent, turn or climb or descend away from the other plane.
 
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