Drones and Planes---going to happen?

[Goober McTuber]

http://www.abc15.com/news/national/faa- ... han-double
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoeni ... to-phoenix

Yup. One will end up going through an engine on approach. Down goes plane, bye-bye drones.

Losing an engine on approach is bad. Losing one while taking off at near max weight on a hot day will cause the pucker factor to go up quickly.

I was on a plane that lost an engine right at lift-off. Miami to Chicago, and it was pretty full.

[Left Seater]

And thanks to the skill of the pilots and the overbuilt nature of the plane non of the rest of us heard about it.

These things do happen, but if I were to have my choice I would rather have an engine quit turning on approach than on rotation.

[smackaholic]

I would think it isn't a big deal if you are in a situation where you can immediately level off and maintain airspeed. I suspect this is the case most everywhere. Even if there are nearby mountains, they generally aren't close enough to be an issue.

Can most commercial airliners climb on a single engine? I would think they could manage a slight climb.

[Left Seater]

Yup. All planes must be able to climb with an engine out. Huge difference though between that happening in Boston and Eagle Vail. Lots more lift at sea level than at 7900 feet. Plus not much in the way of terrain around Boston compared to 14,000 feet peaks around Eagle.

Plenty of mountains around ABQ, Vegas, Denver, SLC, PHX etc etc.

[Left Seater]

I have flown into or out of Eagle 7 times. Four take offs and three landings. I have also been a passenger in there a handful of times as well.

I guarantee everyone pays a little more attention to everything going on or out of there. Clouds add to the pucker factor as they do in many locations.

[smackaholic]

How much more airspeed do you need to land at a place like Eagle, or do you just use different flap settings>

[Left Seater]

We use the same flap setting of 39 degrees for most every landing.

But one thing to remember or understand is that the performance capabilities are related to standard atmosphere. (29.92 inches of mercury at sea level with an air temp of 15C.) At altitude (or warmer air) the density of the air decreases. Therefore our true airspeed is going to be faster than our indicated airspeed and our roll out will be longer.