Soybean or cornfield emergency landing debate

Actually I might have it backwards. :eek: This was August. Corn would be tassling so I bet the lighter fields are corn and the darker are beans.
 
Jim Kickland said:
i was at a FAA safety seminar years ago and this question was raised. the guy putting it on showed slides of probably 30 planes landing in corn and bean fields. Most all of the ones in the corn where right side up and the ones in the beans were all flipped over. This is a interesting question. great discussion
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Just a guess but perhaps the bean field landings have a sudden high drag on the gear area only(lowest part of the aircraft) making a flipover more likely as compared to tall corn which is mostly grabbing onto the wings, higher up on the aircraft.

A bit comparable to tailwheel aircraft with high CG's(biplanes like a Stearman) are more vulnerable to a flipover than tailwheel aircraft with a low CG.
 
DFH65 said:
I would just bail out with the parachute I am always wearing when flying over corn country.
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Don't forget the selfie stick. Pics or it didn't happen ... bet old Trevor is wishing that were true abut now. o_O
 
I think it’s kinda funny to argue about the best of two relatively good choices. How about we argue about whether to land in the woods or an ice cold lake.
 
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Salty said:
I think it’s kinda funny to argue about the best of two relatively good choices. How about we argue about whether to land in the woods or an ice cold lake.
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If there's a choice to be made there, I'll take the shore of the lake.
 
luvflyin said:
Gotta get this in. Thanks for your patience @Briar Rabbit. I have no experience or knowledge to add. Some will.

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That is hilarious! If I borrowed this, I'd be in FB jail within a few minutes, and might never get out.
 
I would rather land in a watermelon field.



Because I would rather eat watermelon...
 
For my flying boat amphibian, gear up on any off airport landing, water or land. The hull will take a lot of hammering.

Cheers
 
No flying today. Stupid Cessna's alternator took a crap. Weather sucks anyway. So I thought I'd post a picture of some beans. At current prices this load will almost pay for my engine R&R. Of course I sold them months ago at a lower price. Oh well. Guess that's why I'm loading a truck in the rain instead of sitting in an office in Chicago, and I'm okay with that.
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X3 Skier said:
Aventura HP on order. Keeping reasonably current by occasional SeaRey flying.

Cheers
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That is the single seat version, correct? I’ve been thinking about buying a Searey, Super Petrel, or similar. Almost all of my seaplane time is on floats but floatplanes tend to be pricier than LSA amphibs so that is likely the direction I’m headed.
 
Briar Rabbit said:
I have heard several pilots with concerns over having to land in a tall alfalfa field. I feel this would have less dire consequences than either corn or beans. Comments?
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I fly out of an alfalfa field regularly on purpose. Would be my #1 (with a bullet) choice for an emergency landing for sure.

I regularly pick up a whole lot of junk without ever feeling like I'm even close to a nose-over.

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I mean, I guess if there was a turf grass farm within gliding distance... But you get my point.

Checkout_my_Six said:
Me?....I'll take the dirt road next to the field.
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I like the dirt road option as well, just remember that in rural areas approximately 100% of roads have power lines next to them. So that should be on the short list of things to figure out as you glide down.

Most of this discussion has concentrated on when there are crops on the field. Let me add another variable for fall flying. Choosing between beans and corn in the fall is a total no brainer. Beans all the way. The reason is that corn will have been cut a few inches above the soil when harvested, creating millions of little knives that want to slice through your sidewall, pop the tire and increase the likelihood that you flip when you suddenly stop rolling.
 
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I landed in a cow pasture after my engine failure. What I couldn't see from the air was that it was really two pastures with a wire dividing fence down the middle. Took out about 30 feet of fence. Fortunately, the bystanders ran the cow back where she belonged when it tried to escape through the hole I made.
 
SkyDog58 said:
That is the single seat version, correct? I’ve been thinking about buying a Searey, Super Petrel, or similar. Almost all of my seaplane time is on floats but floatplanes tend to be pricier than LSA amphibs so that is likely the direction I’m headed.
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UL and HP are both single seat. UL meets ultralight specs and HP does not.

Cheers
 
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