Safe to land on two lane highway?

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ussyorktown
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Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 9:19 pm

Safe to land on two lane highway?

Post by ussyorktown »

So, I'm coming down.
My wing span on a CTSW is 28 feet.
Typical lane is 12 feet so as I hold my speed to 63kts I calculate that the yellow line (yellow for "chicken") will give me 12 feet on my left wing and 12 feet on my fight wing. The "Don't be a Litterbug-adopted by the local KKK" sign should be two feet away from the edge, therefore I have 24 +4=28 feet.
As I am such a good pilot, I can easily land on the yellow line, miss the signs on the side of the road ("In this world of toil and sin...your head grows bald...but not your chin...BURMA SHAVE") and get on the local t.v. news as the Lindbergh of Bergen County.
Any flaws in my reasoning?Image
Discuss fully.
by the way, here is a CTSW taking off from a circular runway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmz8JP4Vtrs[/img]
jnmeade
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Location: Iowa

Post by jnmeade »

If you hold your speed to 63 knots, when are you going to land? :) Hopefully never, according to your scenario.
Typical lane of a modern highway may be 12 feet, but we still have plenty that are 10 and even 9. Now, you are hitting the decorative sign "Sister's Antiques" over the mail box.
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drseti
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Post by drseti »

Although we read from time to time about planes doing successful emergency landings on highways, the odds are not exactly in your favor. For one thing, if it's an active road, there's a good chance you'll hit a car (or be hit by one). Then there's the problem of those signs on the side of the road (high wing aircraft will do better in this regard than low-wingers). But the real problem is power lines. Most roads have them alongside, many have them crossing, and you just can't see them from the air. I'd opt for an open farm field every time, if there's one available.

BTW, I've taken the liberty of moving this thread to the Safety Corner forum.
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3Dreaming
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Post by 3Dreaming »

I had a valve seat come loose and take the head off a valve in a taylorcraft ont time. I chose to land on a road. It was a nice wide country road that is well traveled. It was also next to a small settlement with a church, a bar, a service station, and a few houses. I rolled in and parked across from the church in the gravel parking lot. When my help arrived one of them who was an ag pilot looked down the road and ask if I went over or under the power lines. I looked and said "must have went under them because I was on the ground by there" I never saw them. We pulled the airplane through the country to the airport I was flying to. It was about 15 miles. We did this with the wings on, all 36 feet of them. Had to do a few zig zags, and pull one sign post. I also know of two other airplanes that were torn up in raod related accidents. Unless you know the raod well I would not recomend landing on it.
jnmeade
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Location: Iowa

Post by jnmeade »

BTW, when it comes to power lines, in my state the lowest permitted height is 20' out in the country. That bottom one is the ground wire.
If power lines cross a road, they tend to do so at a building site. So, it is best to set down in between building sites as opposed to right at one. Also keeps you away from mail boxes.
Be aware that some of these roads have quite a crown on them, which means that if you are not right on the top or center line and are over on one side you will get some pull toward the ditch and your downhill wing will be lower, as well.
Happily, I have not set down on a road and hope I don't have to.
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