Unicom
September 2002 Issue
Turnback Technique
More pilots need a plan for handling this unenviable choice
An excellent article on turnbacks [Airmanship, July]. John Eckalbar discusses this in detail in his books: “Flying High Performance Singles and Twins”, and “Flying the Beech Bonanza”. I attended the Bonanza Pilot Profiency Program in April and had the pleasure of hearing John speak in person. Part of the study material was a chapter on “Turnbacks” written by Eckalbar. Out of curiosity I later asked several members of a flying club I belong to about turnbacks, minimum altitude, optimum bank angle and optimum airspeed. I was surprised that many had no clue. I was shocked at how few had a “plan” for engine failure at low altitude.
The BPPP approach to the problem is similar to yours, they...
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