Cessna 182P

Flight Data

Two of the three attempts to return to the 3200 ft runway made the runway (see above).  All would make our "standard" 4,000 ft distance.  See the reasons below.

Flight Analysis

Takeoff distance                                             Typical

Difference between climb and glide angle Enough (1.8 degrees)

Altitude lost in turn                                        Very Small

Note: Would easily make a 4,000 ft runway

The dashed grey line coming from the 4,000 ft. runway distance is set at the glide angle of the plane. Any time the plane falls below this line, without power, it is not possible to return to the runway (4,000 ft is used as our standard way to compare planes).

In this case, since the climb angle was much larger than the glide angle, and the altitude lost in the turn was small, the plane could easily stay above the dashed grey line the entire flight.  It should be noted that the 182 has a worse glide than the 172, but the 182 has a much better climb.  The higher climb angle is what allows the 182 to return to the runway.