Practice
PRACTICEOff-airport landings require many skills. Skills are acquired through practice. Fortunately, some of the skills essential to successful off-airport landings can be practiced without going cross-country. The more we practice, the better chance we have in getting it right when the time comes.
PRECISION PATTERNS
Get in a habit of making well defined patterns. Of course, that may not be possible on every flight. If you get back to the airport too low or encounter excessive sink in the pattern you must have the flexibility do whatever it takes to avoid making the last turn below 200 ft. Do not to start the pattern too high just because you got back with plenty of altitude. Get down to the correct altitude at the I. P. before starting the downwind-leg.
PATTERNS WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE ALTIMETER
As frequently as possible enter and fly your patterns without reference to the altimeter. When it's time to come down, while still at 2,000 ft. or higher, tape a piece of cardboard over the altimeter. This is a worth-while exercise as when the time comes for the real thing, the altimeter will be useless. This is in conformance with the FAA as you can lift the cardboard to take a peek anytime if need be.
LESSEN YOUR DEPENDENCE ON THE AIRSPEED INDICATOR
When the time comes to make an approach into a strange field there will be many other things requiring your attention.
PRECISION LANDINGS
Do not be satisfied with anything less than precision landings on every flight. Strive for perfection in speed control and spot-landing.
FLARE COMPLETELY ON EVERY FLIGHT
Complete flare with minimum touch down speed must be practiced on every landing. When flying an SGS 2-33, do not get into the habit of pushing the stick forward, jamming the skid on the ground to stop. In a normal landing at the home airport, there is seldom any urgency to bring the glider to a stop, no great harm done by rolling another fifty feet or so. Habits are hard to break and can resurface without warning. This habit could sneak up on you during a stressful field landing in a high performance glider. Modern gliders do not respond well to that kind of treatment. Be sure you develop the right habits from the beginning.
To ease the construction of the flap actuating mechanism on my HP-14, I reversed the operation of the flap handle such that "forward" was "flaps down". This worked fine for the nine years I flew the ‘14' - no problem.
Then, years later I traded up to the Schueman Libelle with conventional flap operation. Being heavy, and with somewhat ineffective air brakes, field landings were challenging. Once I made a tense landing in a marginal field in S. C. On final, I was going like a bat out of Hell. What in the world?! Had the wind changed in the last minute? Getting out of the ship at the far end of the field I happen to glance at the flap handle. You guessed it, the flap handle was full forward, I had landed with full negative flaps - old habits never die.
PATTERNS WITHOUT REFERENCE TO GROUND FEATURES
Do not rely on terrain features such as barns, houses, etc. for establishing the pattern. Use only the landing area for reference.
Whenever the traffic allows, land at some other location on the airport. Doing a few of these before setting off into the unknown is well worth it. It gives you the opportunity to experience a pattern over terrain with different ground features than you are accustomed to. Remember, when landing out the only reference you will have is the spot where you plan to land. Another helpful experience is to fly at another site.
EVALUATING FIELDS
Don't let the drive to the airport go to waste. Although the vantage point is not quite right, it is still worth while to contemplate potential scenarios, e.g. which field would be better, how would you handle obstructions, consider various wind conditions, what would be the best approach, etc.
Practicing field selection can also be done while flying local. When down to 1,500 ft near the airport, pick a field. After landing, go over to the field and check it out. You will be surprised what it looks like up close. Such exercises are well worth the trouble.
The soaring site I operated at for many years has an eight hundred foot high ridge next to the airport, a perfect set-up for students to practice evaluating fields. You can pick a field on top of the ridge, fly part of the pattern, land at the airport, then drive up to the field to have a closer look. As you might have guessed, no one else bothered - too much trouble.
By practicing as many of the skills and simulating as many of the various hurdles which may be encountered when landing out as possible, we can significantly reduce the stress and work load when faced with the real thing. The objective is to have as few new challenges to cope with as possible on those first off-airport landings.
FLYING IN ANOTHER PART OF THE COUNTRY
When driving to another site you are not familiar with make it a point to look for features in the terrain which may be different from your home area such as, crops, slopes, fences, wires, etc.
On the way to a Region 6 North contest in Ionia, Michigan, known for its exceptionally friendly terrain, I made an interesting discovery. Whereas in other parts of the country, wires along roads are spaced at about 20 feet from the road, on many roads in the Ionia vicinity the poles are located several hundred feet into the fields. This is useful information to have before hand. In case you are about to set-up for a landing with the approach over a road, better plan for the field being considerably shorter than it looks.
Glider pilots talk about yesterday,
And dream about tomorrow.
Helga Gertsen
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