Field Landings

Field Landings
Field landings
Why practice?
 Confidence in picking a good field and flying a
correct circuit gives peace of mind on cross
country flights
 You never know when you may have to land in
the local valley
 Improves flying skills
Contents of this presentation
 Picking a field
 Flying a circuit and landing
 Photos from the motorglider of circuit
 Dealing with problems
Picking a field
 Above 2000 ft keep in a reasonable area but do
not pick a field yet
 At around 1500 ft make sure you are in an area
of good fields
 At 1000 ft have a suitable field picked and a
circuit planned
 Decisions depend on time of year, state of
fields, wind and glider type
Picking a field
Check list
 WiSSSO
Picking a field
Wind
 strength and direction
 known wind at launch
 check for drift
 ripples on crop and water
 smoke
 cloud shadows
 PDA
 sea breeze front
Picking a field
Size
 pick largest with a good surface
 assess general size of fields in the area
 can use diagonal to increase length
Picking a field
Surface
 crop type
 wheelings
 ridge and furrow
 paths
Picking a field
Surface
Wheelings
Picking a field
Surface
Wheelings closer up
Picking a field
Surface
Ridge and furrow
Picking a field
Surface
Ridge and
furrow
at right angles
Picking a field
Slope
 difficult to detect
 need to view from several angles
 if in doubt use an uphill field rather than a
downwind one
Picking a field
Obstructions
 wires – look for the posts
 stock – may be under trees
 trees on approach
Picking a field
Summary
 Wind
 Size
 Surface
 Slope
 Obstructions
If you cannot find a large field with a good
surface, pick the largest into wind field with a
flat surface
Circuit into a field
Normal circuit at The Park
10 kts
Home airfield
Low key
High key
1400 metres
Circuit position for field
10 kts
Field
400 metres
High key
Low key
1400 metres
Use maximum dimension of field
10 kts
Field
400 metres
High key
Low key
1400 metres
Circuit into a field
 Confirm wind direction
Circuit position for field
10 kts
Field
400 metres
High key
1400 metres
Circuit into a field
Confirm wind direction
 Select landing direction
Circuit position for field
10 kts
Field
?
Approach
400 metres
?
High key
1400 metres
Circuit into a field
Confirm wind direction
Select landing direction
 Select base leg direction
Circuit position for field
10 kts
Field
400 metres
?
High key
Base leg
?
1400 metres
Circuit into a field
Confirm wind direction
Select landing direction
Select base leg direction
 Choose route to base leg
Circuit position for field
10 kts
Field
400 metres
Low key
High key
1400 metres
Circuit into a field
Confirm wind direction
Select landing direction
Select base leg direction
Choose route to base leg
 When on downwind leg
Confirm landing direction
Confirm wind direction
Pre landing checks
Circuit into a field
Confirm wind direction
Select landing direction
Select base leg direction
Choose route to base leg
Downwind leg
 Base leg
Confirm final turn position
Make sure you are not too high or low
Circuit into a field
Confirm wind direction
Select landing direction
Select base leg direction
Choose route to base leg
Downwind leg
Base leg
 Final turn and approach
Check approach funnel
Circuit into a field
Uphill landing
 Increase speed to allow for roundout
Circuit into a field
A circuit and approach photographed from the
Motorglider
Actual circuit flown
Approach
Wind
5Kts
Downwind
Turn to diagonal leg
Diagonal leg
Base leg
Final turn
Problems with circuit
Too close
 Not possible to detect slope - risk of overshoot
 Assess position and distance from field with relation
to field size
 Field likely to be smaller than airfield so avoid
cramping the circuit
Problems with circuit
Rushing the circuit
 No time to plan circuit
 There is more time than you think
 Risk of arriving too high for the final turn
Problems with circuit
Flying too fast
 Risks overshoot
 Same problems as too close
Problems with circuit
Changed mind late
 Have a backup field and plan
 Pick a field with an overshoot
Problems with circuit
No circuit
 Will not have inspected field
 May have drifted away from chosen field
 May have lost chosen field
Problems with circuit
Picked field too early
 Too high to see the field properly
 More time than you think
 Prevents you flying over a larger area and
searching for lift
Problems with circuit
Picked too late
 No time to assess
 Better to pick a mediocre field than no field
 Rare to find a perfect field
 Are you soaring or landing?
BGA accident database
over a 10 year period
Incident
Number %
Glider damage due to poor surface, wrong
crop, obstructions on ground & ground loops
121
46%
Overshoot or groundloop to prevent crash
59
22%
Hit obstacle or cables on approach or wing
hit ground or obstructions in final turn
33
13%
Undershoot into downwind boundary or
undershoot field
25
10%

Heavy or slow landing
12
5%

Wheel up landing
4
2%

Spun in or crash with no field available
4
2%




Flying the Motor Glider
 Climb at 45 – 50. Cruise at 60
 Fly at 50 when searching for fields
 Speed control – not very stable in pitch – speed will
readily increase resulting in rapid loss of height
 Plan circuit on your side for best visibility
 1500 RPM will give Astir rate of descent
 Approach in to field at 55
 Nose will go down and speed increase when spoilers
opened – maintain attitude to keep 55 kts
 Spoilers not very powerful – think Bocian
Don't forget the 500 feet rule
Crop types
Winter barley
Spring barley
Winter wheat
Spring wheat
Oil seed rape
Winter beans
Peas
Vegetables
Grass
Beet
Maize
Linseed
Field landings