Movie "Sully"

[Mace Canute]

Perhaps. But, is that proven fact?

"To have the maximum range and therefore the largest choice of possible landing sites, he needed to fly the 767 at the optimal glide speed."

All pilots are trained to do that.

Pilots that are not trained in gliders, do manage to glide to land too.

A little farther along in the Wiki article...

As the runway drew near, it became apparent that the aircraft was coming in too high and fast, raising the danger of running off the runway before it could be stopped. The lack of hydraulic pressure prevented flap/slat extension that would have, under normal landing conditions, reduced the stall speed of the aircraft and increased the lift coefficient of the wings to allow the aircraft to be slowed for a safe landing. The pilots briefly considered a 360-degree turn to reduce speed and altitude, but decided that they did not have enough altitude for the manoeuvre. Pearson decided to execute a forward slip to increase drag and lose altitude. This manoeuvre is commonly used with gliders and light aircraft to descend more quickly without increasing forward speed.

From The Air Canada Boeing 767 "Gimli Glider" 1983 accident re-visited. [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums

As part of the investigation into that accident Air Canada tested several crews in the Boeing 767 simulator by having them run the identical scenario - that is double engine failure in cruise and forced landing with no power. The results showed that all crews crashed the first time.

Captain Pearson Pearson had extensive experience flying gliders which he put to good service that day.

 

[ray66v]

A little farther along in the Wiki article...

From The Air Canada Boeing 767 "Gimli Glider" 1983 accident re-visited. [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums
Captain Pearson Pearson had extensive experience flying gliders which he put to good service that day.

Writer embellishment.

As it says, a forward slip is a normal pilot maneuver. all pilots are trained to do it. It is used to reduce altitude, without the use of flaps. It's not a magical maneuver only glider pilots know.

The fact that they tested "several crews", in a sim, is marginal evidence. Perhaps Pearson reacted faster, or made better decisions. That doesn't mean it had to do with being a glider pilot.

Did they put Pearson through the same sim test?

So far, nothing happened that was out of the realm of ordinary pilot training.

 

[Stimw]

The movie pointed out that Sully's first response was to start the aux generator, (check list had this step at #15) with engines dead there was no power to control anything.
My understanding is that without the generator they had no controls or data.

 

[747driver]

The A320 as well as all jet liners have whats known as a RAT ( ram air turbine ) that i am sure he deployed. It drops down just fwd of the main gear door. It will give you minimum hydraulics and electric power. It probably didn't work to long as their airspeed is what drives the RAT propeller.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

People like to say that, and any flying experience, is experience. But glider skill is not relevant in that case.

Sully said it made a difference. He was there. I'll take his word for it.

Its well known within the commercial airline business that the NTSB tried to put Sully in the light as portrayed in the movie.

Sully said they weren't. He was there. I'll take his word for it.


You can both argue your opinions all you want to. I'll still take Sully's word for it.

 

[ultrarunner]

With my 4 year old niece on my shoulders we went to Sully's homecoming in Danville California, Sully's hometown.

Thousands of people came together in appreciation without so much as a gum wrapper of trash left behind... no police with riot gear... nothing negative at all and he was very humbled and touched by it all...

As a footnote... Hanks and Sully were practically neighbors in that they lived much of their lives within 30 minutes of each other... Tom graduated from Oakland's Skyline High School and I first came to know him as a drama student...

He also had a job at the Airport Hilton adjacent to Oakland International Airport as a waiter... waited on Mom and Dad several times...

 

[ray66v]

Sully said it made a difference. He was there. I'll take his word for it.

No problem. Can you show me where he actually said that?

 

[bcp]

From:
Sully’s Tale
|
A&S Interview | Air & Space Magazine

Air & Space: Did you flash back on any of your experiences as a glider pilot? Did it feel natural to you?

Sullenberger: Actually not very much after the bird strike felt very natural, but the glide was comfortable. Once we had established our plan, once we knew our only viable option was to land in the river, we knew we could make the landing. But a lot of things yet had to go right.

I get asked that question about my gliding experience a lot, but that was so long ago, and those [gliders] are so different from a modern jet airliner, I think the transfer [of experience] was not large. There are more recent experiences I’ve had that played a greater role.

One of the big differences in flying heavy jets versus flying lighter, smaller aircraft is energy management—always knowing at any part of the flight what the most desirable flight path is, then trying to attain that in an elegant way with the minimum thrust, so that you never are too high or too low or too fast or too slow. I’ve always paid attention to that, and I think that more than anything else helped me.


Bruce

 

[ray66v]

Thanks, Bruce.

Sullengerber: "One of the big differences in flying heavy jets versus flying lighter, smaller aircraft is energy management-always knowing at any part of the flight what the most desirable flight path is, then trying to attain that in an elegant way with the minimum thrust, so that you never are too high or too low or too fast or too slow. I've always paid attention to that, and I think that more than anything else helped me."

He is too humble to say it. But, what he said was, being a good pilot, helped him more than anything else.