ORIGINAL: cappaj1
I've been reading through the forums and occasionally come across the term 'dead stick' and being a newbie, didn't know what it meant.
I checked Wikipedia and found the following description:
'A deadstick landing, also called a dead-stick landing or forced landing, occurs when an aircraft loses all of its propulsive power and is forced to land.'
So I wondered, why do they call it a dead-stick landing when the 'stick' isn't dead but rather the engine?
Anyway, my question is, I don't have a plane yet and am practicing on Real Flight G4 with my trainer, the Sig LT-40, and I see I can kill the engine with K key so should I be practicing landings with the engine killed alot or is it very uncommon for the engine to die while flying? I've been watching at local rc fields alot lately and have yet to see it happen. I plan on buying a OS Max AX 46 engine by the way.
Also, are there certain fuel mixtures that are less likely to cause an engine stall, ie. more nitro, etc.?
The key to not having dead sticks is learning how to properly tune an engine and plumb the fuel system. It's also about having the restraint to not fly when something isn't quite right. I haven't had one in almost a year, but some guys at our field seem to have one every time they come out to fly. Go figure.