Tristar
Pattern Altitude
This topic came up in one of my CFI lessons.
If you were to have an engine failure at night, the FAA says to fly towards and set up for an emergency landing in an unlit field. For anyone who has done this in practice understands how little the ground can be seen. It's literally a shot in the dark into terrain that more than likely will not be soft but this is what the FAA says.
I've also heard of many people saying, "I know what the FAA says but I'd still aim for a road/highway." Obviously the FAA doesn't recommend this due to the possibility of hitting a car, powerlines, etc. Although I know of people that have and both the airplane and pilot came out fine.
My instructor came up with another idea I hadn't thought of. He asked about landing on the edge of a lake. If you fly over a lake with at least some moonlight, you will notice the reflection thus creating an outline. This was a neat idea but I came up with two problems; one would be hypothermia from the water and two, most lakes are curved so you might hit a tree anyways. Although it could be a better option than hoping you don't hit anything in a dark field. Obviously, during an emergency, you don't have much time and will do whatever you believe is the best action.
Thoughts??
If you were to have an engine failure at night, the FAA says to fly towards and set up for an emergency landing in an unlit field. For anyone who has done this in practice understands how little the ground can be seen. It's literally a shot in the dark into terrain that more than likely will not be soft but this is what the FAA says.
I've also heard of many people saying, "I know what the FAA says but I'd still aim for a road/highway." Obviously the FAA doesn't recommend this due to the possibility of hitting a car, powerlines, etc. Although I know of people that have and both the airplane and pilot came out fine.
My instructor came up with another idea I hadn't thought of. He asked about landing on the edge of a lake. If you fly over a lake with at least some moonlight, you will notice the reflection thus creating an outline. This was a neat idea but I came up with two problems; one would be hypothermia from the water and two, most lakes are curved so you might hit a tree anyways. Although it could be a better option than hoping you don't hit anything in a dark field. Obviously, during an emergency, you don't have much time and will do whatever you believe is the best action.
Thoughts??