Which fighters did pilots feel safest in for crash landing?

[cheddar cheese]

Hehe, trying to crash, that sounds weird

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Hehe, trying to crash, that sounds weird

I know people who attempt this daily, unknowingly mind you, but if you saw them fly you would agree!

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

well there'll come a point when you realise you can't make it, and so you try your hardest to make a decent crash..................

 

[cheddar cheese]

Or just bail out and leave the plane to crash itself

 

[FLYBOYJ]

well there'll come a point when you realise you can't make it, and so you try your hardest to make a decent crash..................

Unfortunately Lanc, most pilots don't realize this until the earth's surface is about a foot away from their face!

 

[plan_D]

If you're in a position where your aircraft isn't going to make it home but you still have control, the best option is to crash land [not nowadays though]. You have more say on where you will land and will probably be more intact after you hit the ground.

Jumping out, especially over home terrority, may send your plane crashing on to someones house. Also, at low level you have no chance of jumping out unless you are going fast and pull the stick back, exchanging speed for height, then flip it on it's back and fall out.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

the height at which you eject is no longer a problem in modern aircraft however..........

 

[DAVIDICUS]

From the Pilot Training Manual for the P-47N Thunderbolt:

The plane has a built-in skid for belly landings. You are safer with your wheels up and nine times out of ten the damage is less.

When making a forced landing, keep your speed up even though the terrain is rough or wooded. An N, which is built like a bulldozer, will plough right through. If your safety belt and shoulder harness are secure you'll be all right.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I could tell you that when I flew in F-4s and T-33s with hot seats, it was always understood that in the event of an emergency, we were staying with the plane for as long as we can and attempt a forced landing if possible (we were flying these things in the middle of a dessert, somewhat comforting). The L-29s I get to fly in on occasion has deactivated ejection seats. We do use parachutes when performing aerobatics but again, unless I see a wing departing from the airframe, jumping from the aircraft is the last thing I want to do, especially with a "T" tail aircraft.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

From the Pilot Training Manual for the P-47N Thunderbolt:

An N, which is built like a bulldozer, will plough right through. If your safety belt and shoulder harness are secure you'll be all right.[/i]

I'd say that was an understatement!

 

[BombTaxi]

I have read that the 109 was not a plane you wanted to crash land, as the cramped cockpit often led to a meeting of the pilots head with the gunsight.Ouch!

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

not exactly the stongest of birds either.....

 

[cheddar cheese]

A normal landing in a 109 was hard enough!

 

[wmaxt]

If you crash landed a P-38 especialy straight ahead the Gondola was very forgiving.

It was not recomended that a P-38 ditch. If you do it's noted that the airplane will sink quickly.

The P-51 with its cooling system below was supposed to be very good in a wheels up landing.

If ditching a P-51 a hard turn just as the low wing hits the water to prevent diving. The P-51 will sink in ~2 seconds.

wmaxt

 

[DAVIDICUS]

I have read the opposite with regards to the P-51 as a result of the scoop.

Excerpt from Lieutenant Rip Collins who flew both P-47's and P-51's in the 35th Fighter Group in the Pacific"

" You can imagine what happens during a crash landing if your wheels would not come down (due to damage or mechanical trouble). On landing, it could make the P-51 nose over in the dirt as the scoop drags into the earth. In water (and I flew over the Pacific Ocean most of my 92 combat missions), it could cause trouble in a crash landing because the air scoop would be the first part of the aircraft to hit the water. Instead of a smooth belly landing, anything might happen."

 

[Glider]

A Beaufighter was considered a good plane to crash land in (if you had to). The 4 x 20 acted as a skid under you, the two engines helped plow through anything that got in the way and it was a solid machine.

I have flown in FRADU Hunters acting as targets for Navy vessels when working up and ejecting was the only real option. I remember reading the Pilots notes on ditching as we were flying over the sea. There was so little and it was so negative, they might as well have saved the paper and written DON'T DO IT.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

the bit about the beau does make sence she was an amazingly strong bird..........

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

In regards to the 109 even if you succesfully got the aircraft on the ground the landing gear would most likely collapse and then the aircraft would break apart on you and ultimatly killing you, and that is if the aircraft did not tip over on its nose and then you met the instrument panel. Either way I would bail out and not take any chances.

 

[plan_D]

It's almost always safer to do a gear up belly landing if you're going to crash land in a field. Don't bother putting the gear down because it could trip you, without any gear it's hard to trip.

 

[Nonskimmer]

The L-29s I get to fly in on occasion has deactivated ejection seats.

Why's that? Some kind of weight saver for the aerobatics, I'm guessing.