Cockpit Descent Ground Effect 
Plane and Pilot
JULY 1, 2025
A witness reported that they saw the airplane lift off from the runway and remain in ground effect until it crossed the departure end of the runway. Glasair III Pahrump, Nevada/Injuries: None NTSB Report: WPR23LA272 According to the pilot, he detected the odor of fuel in the cockpit shortly after takeoff.
Vintage Aviation News
DECEMBER 26, 2024
Air Force, in the cockpit of Convair F-106A Delta Dart 56-0467, at Edwards AFB, December 15, 1959, following his world speed record. ” After briefly entering the ground effect, F-106A 58-0787 mad an unpiloted, wheels-up landing in a frozen wheatfield outside Big Sandy, Montana. Rogers set a world speed record of 1,525.96
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Fear of Landing
MAY 3, 2024
For the unmanned test, the pilot controlled the aircraft from a remote cockpit with a curved screen offering a panoramic view of the instruments. Once stable in ground effect, the pilot shut down EPU1 (left-side outboard) to simulate the performance in the case of an engine failure. A vertical descent rate of 19.5
Air Facts
SEPTEMBER 9, 2024
An incomplete summary description of FASF is whether the airplane made it out of ground effect. One more gadget in the cockpit cannot remedy deficits in skill, judgement, and attitude. This descent used the same technique that (would have) had value in many of the NTSB accidents involving engine failure after takeoff.
Chess In the Air
JUNE 24, 2022
Under normal circumstances Shmulik would have had sufficient altitude to delay the landing by several minutes: his glider’s minimum descent rate in still air was just 100 fpm. Even a more typical descent rate of 200 fpm would have allowed Shmulik to hold for about 5-7 minutes before he would have had to proceed with the landing.
Plane and Pilot
OCTOBER 3, 2024
After squeezing through the landing gear houses I settled into the right seat for our evaluation flights because frankly, this is a complex airplane with a complex cockpit. Resist pulling back, instead letting it accelerate in ground effect (or should we say water effect) for a few seconds. The plane will fly itself off.
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