Hey all...went flyin yesterday and the weather was a little chilly but i needed to take it up(sunny and hardly any wind...with that weather you cant pass it up) Well i was flying around for a while and went decided to go into a hammerhead, it went straight up for a while and then...nothing. OH NO! Man does she fall fast lol. I tipped the nose down to gain airspeed and came in to my approach just like i would with the engine running and brought her home...that was my first dead stick and i was surprised how well it flew even with no engine. Only now i KNOW i have to bring it down and dont have the luxurie of powering out of it

anywho...just thought ide share, i got her tuned after that and took it up right after and it runs great.

-Dustin

Very cool Dustin,

You'll soon find out that you best landings will almost always be when it's deadstick. Simply because you know you have one chance to make it and all your concentration will be on the plane.

Glad you tuned it. Cooler air needs a tad more fuel so just by pointing the nose straight up and it quitting says you were a tad lean. Good job in all respects, really good job. Oh yea, you may have noticed that the plane seemd to fly way better in the cooler air.

Planes like cooler air, it's a more dense air so the wing becomes better at making lift.

Welcome to "The Instant Glider Pilot Club". The first time is the worst. I used to get laughed at for practicing that on the sim, but it did pay off. I have had 3 deadsticks in the last 4 years. The worst damage was a ripped out LG on the SIG Rascal when I ran out of airspace about 2' from the runway.

Well, take it this way. A plane is a glider with a motor. Gliders dont use motors and they have more efficient bodies to handle the flight longer with no motor. Ever plane can be a glider, except the ones with the motors dont have a good glide/distance ratio.

samolot, have you ever deadsticked a byplane with flying wires. They are as much as a glider as an aerodynamic brick with popcicle sticks for wings.

Happy Thanksgiving.

And that's being nice about it, flying wires or not. My Great Planes Super Stearman comes to mind. If you want to lose lots of altitude fast, just chop power on it. Now an Ultimate will at least glide, somewhat [&:]

But most of the larger Yak 54's are the same way, just a bit better glide ratio

any plane that is a low wing design IMHO is like playing with fire and glow fuel at the same time when trying to dead stick land.

Caught my chipmunk in a tree this past Saturday from dead sticking only minor damage but scary as heck.

Congrats on the first dead stick. When no one's at our field, I often kill the motor in flight and bring in it with no power, it's good practice and quite fun. Like it was mentioned, dead sticks are usually picture perfect landings....well, except for the fact you have to take a walk to retrive it!

When the engine is running at a idle, the prop is braking the plane and also is blocking the airflow to the elevator somewhat. This decreases elevator control and makes it harder to land. This effect is greatest with large diameter props with a low pitch. I have a plane that does not land well at all unless I remember to give the engine about 1/4 to 1/3 throttle before touching down. When it is dead, the stationary prop does not block airflow to the elevator and perfect landings are a breeze.
Yes, they really are easier to land with the engine dead, it's not just your imagination.