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112     U.S. CIVIL AERONAUTICS AUTHORITY

One of the first things that a student should learn when advanced to the point where stimulated forced landings can be started is to so plan his flight path that a field is always available in which a reasonably safe landing can be made. This should be taken into consideration in the take-off as well as in normal flight.
Once a reasonable altitude is attained, there is no excuse for a pilot to be caught where he cannot make a reasonably safe landing. To be so caught is a confession of poor judgement or negligence and is a direct reflection, not only on his own competency, but on that of his instructor as well.
The flight path can be planned and varied at a given altitude, or the altitude varied for a given or required flight path, to insure a reasonably safe landing area within gliding distance at all times.
The student will find that this practice of keeping a field in reach at all times will eventually become as instinctive and reflex as any other part of flying, and upon seeing a field, he will subconsciously plot the best method of approach. This will only come after hours of experience. It will not interfere with the pleasure of flying but, from the sense of security it brings, actually add to it.
To the pilot who is prepared a forced landing is only another landing. The only difference is that it is unexpected and in a strange field, the surface of which may not be as suitable as it looks from the air and cause minor trouble.
When the engine misses or fails completely, or the instructor closes the throttle and calls Forced Landing, the student should make a habit of the following routine:
  1. Relax all controls.
  2. Establish a normal glide without giving his conscious attention to doing it. (The student will have learned that the nose will normally drop when the power goes off, and from his experience in glides, etc., he will have developed, to some extent, the various means of judging speed without giving conscious attention to it. Therefore, he should utilize his time in selecting a field or examining the preselected field. If the attention is given to assuming a glide, particularly at low altitudes, the student will undoubtedly find himself in a safe glide, but at an altitude that is rapidly becoming critical with no field selected or out of reach of the one he has selected. Such a situation will lead to disaster.)
  3. Select a field and plan the approach.
  4. If time and altitude permit, attempt to get an idea of the source of the trouble. It may be something that can be remedied, as, for instance, switching from an empty gas tank to a full one. By determining the nature of the trouble, gain a conception of the possibility of using the remaining power, if any, and what can be done with it.
  5. As the field is approached, select the best place to land, with regard to its size and condition, and try to land with a minimum of speed. A slight "pancake" landing is usually preferable.
Aside from the ability and reactions of the individual, the following factors affect forced landings.
  1. Available altitude.
  2. Terrain.
  3. Wind direction and velocity.