DITCHING CHARACTERISTICS

[Downwind.Maddl-Land]

I hear the scoop on a Typhoon made them real fun to ditch.........

I don't disagree. However, why then do most of the radial-engined USN types rate as 'good ditchers' when they - surely - have the biggest hydrodynamic brake of all? ie the big, round, hole at the front!

All USN fighters pretty good.

I am just using Renrich's quote for emphasis and not challenging his statement at all as I've seen this opinion in various forms several times in my reading. So what makes the difference? Any ideas?

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I am just using Renrich's quote for emphasis and not challenging his statement at all as I've seen this opinion in various forms several times in my reading. So what makes the difference? Any ideas?

There was a design requirement for US Naval Aircraft to be able to be "ditched." I've seen clips of "water tests" with models of the actual aircraft.

 

[renrich]

Some of the early Wildcats actually had flotation devices, I think in the wings, but they sometimes prematurely inflated, which ruined everyone's day(especially the pilot's) so they were deleted.

 

[Downwind.Maddl-Land]

Another 'good idea' that wasn't - like the Bearcat's "stress tips"!

 

[mkloby]

The SOP for the 51 was bail out better than ditch.

B-24 broke its back frequently

B-17 allegedly great..

My grandfather's PFF B-17 got hit by flak near the German-French border 10 Sep 44. They lost the two right engines immediately, followed by one on the left. They came down nearby Reims, belly landing in a farmer's field. The whole crew made it, although some w/ more injuries than others.

 

[ppopsie]

Last year a student and I got mixed up in some severe turbulence during a night cross country.
>
At that point I proceeded straight in. Amazingly all turbulence stopped about 300 feet AGL!

Was the airport near to mountains? It looks like you got mixed up in one of "waves" till you got down to close to the surface.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Was the airport near to mountains? It looks like you got mixed up in one of "waves" till you got down to close to the surface.

Yep - about 10 miles from the base of the Rockies - happens here all the time. That night was just worse than others.

BTW just cancelled a student today. Visibility 6 miles mist, ceiling 600' broken, temp below freezing with periods of rain and light snow. Not very healthy.

 

[ppopsie]

Yep - about 10 miles from the base of the Rockies - happens here all the time. That night was just worse than others.

The mountain waves will develop into the evening to the night when the air gets more stable than the daytime. It should be dangerous to send a student to solo-XC in daytime if the wave exists. Mountain flyers can use the brain better than the plain pilots do.

Not very healthy.

In my case at Chino, some 50 miles inland of LA suffered smogs and bad weather including rains and fogs on two out three days in January-February 1982. One VFR day out of three is good to me because I could do sightseeing but I had to spend extra money for lodging and rent-a-car.

BTW was there examples of the B-24 survived a belly landing, had repaired and back to the air again in the war? I see it could in the case of B-17s.

 

[pbfoot]

After thinking about this I really don't think type of aircraft would make that much difference in ditching pilot skill would be the deciding factor .
A little story about some RCAF guys who ditched after being badly damaged in a Lanc, they ditched and manged to get into the rafts without getting wet but were amazed that the Lanc didn't sink several hours later as dawn arose the Lanc was still floating . With the arrival of daylight they saw they were only a couple of hundred feet away from English coast and in only 3 feet of water as was the Lanc

 

[FLYBOYJ]

The mountain waves will develop into the evening to the night when the air gets more stable than the daytime. It should be dangerous to send a student to solo-XC in daytime if the wave exists. Mountain flyers can use the brain better than the plain pilots do.

My rule of thumb for my students - if it gets windy, head east.

In my case at Chino, some 50 miles inland of LA suffered smogs and bad weather including rains and fogs on two out three days in January-February 1982. One VFR day out of three is good to me because I could do sightseeing but I had to spend extra money for lodging and rent-a-car.

Yep - an instrument rating in SoCal is a necessity

BTW was there examples of the B-24 survived a belly landing, had repaired and back to the air again in the war? I see it could in the case of B-17s.

My wife's grandfather had one collapse a MLG on him as he was taxing out on a practice mission after the war. My wife's uncle found the accident report. I don't think the aircraft had 1000 hours on it!