Practicing the Impossible Turn

Microsoft Flight Simulator can be used to try a 700-foot turn back at engine failure as much as you want with risk only to your pride.

Peter James

Tuesday, May 02, 2023 at 01:35 PM ET

Verified

Executing the "impossible turn," or turn back to the runway if your engine quits, in a sim is an exercise in mental awareness and "big picture” thinking. [Image courtesy: Peter James]

Key Takeaways:

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS) is a valuable tool for pilots to practice critical engine failure scenarios, such as the "impossible turn" back to the runway, emergency highway landings, and forced landings in open fields.
The author demonstrates successful execution of these challenging maneuvers within MSFS, highlighting the simulator's realism in replicating such events and providing practical experience without real-world risk.
Practicing these unlikely emergency scenarios in a flight simulator significantly enhances a pilot's mental awareness, quick thinking, and problem-solving skills in high-stress situations.

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As an experienced CFII (certified flight instructor instrument) in the early days of my career, and as a reader of FLYING, we all know about the “impossible turn” or turn back to the runway if your engine quits at exactly the wrong time.

The safety altitude most instructors teach is to never turn around if less than 1,000 feet above the airport elevation. It is always better to land straight ahead, or at the most a few degrees either left or right to avoid the hardest objects in your path.