Ever tried a one mile glide ?

[Olham 164]

One of the FE2b's had turned round to fire at me; hadn't noticed; hole in the tank.

I turned round towards the front line - I was two or three miles in enemy terrain,

east of Ypres. About one mile still to fly, my engine stopped running. Thank you!

 

Now be cool, I thought, if you find the lowest degree of nose down, to keep up the

glide without stalling, you can perhaps make it. Feels like lying on a huge ball,

arms and legs stretched out, trying to hold the balance!

 

Closer and closer came the lines - and the ground! When I got received by groundfire

from some 20 guns, I knew: if I would get through that, I might have made it.

But right after the trenches came lots of trees - I had to go more left, without

causing her to stall. The last bit, the ground zoomed towards me, and I touched down

hard and bumped and bounced, but then she rolled out.

Had we really made it? Yes, just behind the lines - could have been the end for my

best DiD pilot! Sailplaning in Flanders - not bad!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Lucky!.... You musta had the advantage of height there old boy!...... Be careful..your luck may run out!

[Olham 164]

Yes, with the luck one pilot may have, it feels like an hour glass - slowly but surely running out.

And this one had several buckets of luck already...

 

Hey, and I was lucky those where just "Fees"...

Edited June 27, 2009 by Olham

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Yes, with the luck one pilot may have, it feels like an hour glass - slowly but surely running out.

And this one had several buckets of luck already...

 

It's very satisfying when you pull something like that off isnt it?... The feeling when you get on the ground...cut that engine...and sit listening to the Dog bark, and the birds singing, is truly great!..... I often take a break from the game at that stage, just to recover my nerves!

[Olham 164]

True! I must admit, that I am really tired after two or three sorties, when there was action.

In my above mentioned case I didn't even have to cut the engine. I heard the airflow, and

further down the guns of all those clay pigeon enthusiasts, but then, after the bumpy bit -

birds singing in all this devastation. Never sounded SO nice...

[Rickitycrate 10]

Yes guys, been there and done that. Somehow it can be more satisfying than landing uneventfully back at the base. One does need to take a bit of a break after times like that to stop as smell the roses as it were.

[Duce Lewis 3]

That loong brown muddy trail really has significance in BHH

You don't just have to survive the mission

You need to cross the finish line too

[Rickitycrate 10]

Good one Uncle. One time long ago I was far from homefield and last survivor of my flight being chased by an E/A and out of ammo. I saw an army camp in the distance made it there and landed as close as I could. I killed the engine and watched and listened as the army guns fired at the E/A and brought it down. I then fired up the engine and made it back to homefield.

[SirMike1983 3]

Nieuports and Pups will glide for miles and miles. A quick and dirty rule is that the lower the wingloading, the better the glide you'll get out of it. That's not 100% true, but it does tell you to look for a lightweight airplane with a lot of wing area and acceptable drag. If I had to pick a plane to glide with-- I'd go with an early Nieuport (11 or maybe 17) or a Sopwith Pup. I've never tried gliding with any of the triplanes, but they probably aren't bad either.

[Canvas Wings 1]

As previously stated, Noops will glide for miles. Still, it's an unpleasent feeling when that engine conks out. I, too, was at 9000+ when my N'17 unexpectedly changed from an aircraft into a kite.

Punch the starter... what the-? ...no fuel?????

Thinking evil things about my recently deceased opponent and the mating habits of his family pets, I checked the map for the nearest friendly airfield.

Nearly five natuical miles?? ...and most of that over Bocheland? Mon freakin' dieu!!!

 

So, like you say, I sweated out the balancing act... altitude vs stall speed... coaxing every ounce/gram of lift out of her. By the time I crossed the trench lines, I am down to 1500. Everyone on their side is shooting bullets, and I am sweating them. I dare only the mildest of evasion manuevers, begrudging every meter it costs. I take a few punches, hear that nasty sound of canvas ripping... but finally, the ground fire and flack at least ease off a little. Now, past the worst of it, I see the field ahead. Even from a distance, the hangars are the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. A quick altitude check, and at about 800, I think I have a good chance to make it; I start looking for a clear field just in case.... and BANG!

The flak hit was loud, sudden and damn near stopped my heart and killed me in real life. Another one bites the dust. Soooo close.

In retrospect, a few days later, I guess I would have *almost* been disappointed if they hadn't downed me. I mean, drifting deadstick over the lines at rock-throwing hieght? They should have sent the whole battery back to the trenches for missing me. C'est la vie, non?

-Ah well, at least it wasn't one of my best DiD boys...

CW

[Olham 164]

Hahaha! Great story, UncleAl! Sometimes the devs built it almost too realistic, eyh?

I just imagined you crashing into a huge box with cans to stopp you. And being all the practical pilot,

you find a cracked up can and say: "Hm!!! Corned beef! Are there some sour cucumbers anywhere to it?"

 

Rickity, they are sure helpful there to shoot opponents off your tail. But never land there,

if you mustn't - the food you'd get in the canteen is far worse than ours.

 

Canvas Wings - you must not make it to an airfield - if you touch down your side of the lines, anywhere in the green, will do.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

In fact...this may be interesting to test?

 

Take a few different aircraft up to 5 - 10,000 ft and see which glides the best after you gut the engine.

(well, it is a boring old Sunday after all!)

[Olham 164]

The Albatros may not be the lightest craft to perform that, but she did very well.

But a Nupe or a Pup should get much further. I suppose.

If you really try that, Widowmaker, try to hold them 5 ° down (use the instrument) if possible,

so we'd have similar conditions?

[Hasse Wind 46]

I can confirm that the Nupes and Pups are great for gliding, as I have personal experience from doing just that with both plane types in OFF. Rear gunners used to be so deadly in previous version that I took hits in my plane's engine all the time. I lost one Spad pilot early in my OFF career when his oil tank took a hit behind enemy lines and soon after the engine stopped working. Fortunately I was pretty high, but still that wasn't enough to bring that brick over friendly lines, and I had to land very near the front on the wrong side. That guy is now eating turnips in a German POW camp.

[SirMike1983 3]

When gliding don't think yourself obligated to land at an airfield. Find the closest relatively flat, open space on the allied side and drop in on it. The lightweight aircraft like the Nieups and Pups have a very short roll to stop, so you only need a little field and you can land the plane. Heavier aircraft like Spads will be more difficult because you need a faster descent-- not only can you not glide as far, but you also need to save up more speed for the drop to ground because of the higher stall speed, and additionally the roll is longer because you're going faster, so you need a bigger field.

[Olham 164]

SirMike: When gliding don't think yourself obligated to land at an airfield. Find the closest relatively flat, open space on the allied side and drop in on it.

 

Sorry, SirMike, but for Creaghorn, Hasse Wind, several others, and me that would be the worst solution.

[Canvas Wings 1]

Canvas Wings - you must not make it to an airfield - if you touch down your side of the lines, anywhere in the green, will do.

 

 

Yah, I know.

But the field was only a half mile or so from the trenchlines and I thought I was out of reach of the flak boys. I had the altitude and wanted to be bring th bird home instead pronging into some farmer's cow. Bad decision.

Added to my own personal "Dicta CW" ..."If your engine quits, land immediately on the closest friendly real estate."

[SirMike1983 3]

SirMike: When gliding don't think yourself obligated to land at an airfield. Find the closest relatively flat, open space on the allied side and drop in on it.

 

Sorry, SirMike, but for Creaghorn, Hasse Wind, several others, and me that would be the worst solution.

 

 

Suit yourself, but feel free to drop by anytime!