Deserted Island Hypothetical - which device gives best chance of flying back home?

[Richard_Pearse]

Yes the Ercoupe would probably be a good one.

You’d definitely want to minimise the complexity. Taildraggers would be another one to avoid as they are inherently unstable on the ground. With float planes, on the one hand they add a layer of complexity to your basic aeroplane, on the other hand you are not restricted to landing on narrow strips of tarmac/grass. On balance I think you’re best to stick with a standard land aeroplane.

[zoid]

@Shagnasty

How far do you have to go? An ultra-light trike (basically a motorized hang glider) is your best bet if you don’t have to go more than 50 miles or so and you have full fuel. They can take off very quickly even from a beach and some of the control is done just through weight shifting. You can learn to fly one (poorly but passably) in just a few minutes if you know anything about flight and engine controls.

If you need to go farther, one of the new Light Sport planes is your best bet. They are real planes but most of them are built to be easy to fly and many of them come with advanced avionics like GPS and a glass panel to give you good guidance on what to do.

A SeaMax might be your best overall choice. It is an amphibious light sport aircraft with a brand new design. It can take off from both land and water.

http://www.seamaxamerica.com/index.php/press/35-qseamax-aircraftq-wwwbest-aviation-sitescom

That is truly beautiful. At $150K it’s also perfectly within reach of a lot of people.

[Musicat]

A Lockheed Electra 10-E?

[LawMonkey]

@Shagnasty

If you need to go farther, one of the new Light Sport planes is your best bet. They are real planes but most of them are built to be easy to fly and many of them come with advanced avionics like GPS and a glass panel to give you good guidance on what to do.

Seconded. I’m learning in a Flight Design CTLS, and it’s both pretty easy to fly and pretty hard to screw up (I have a hard time stalling it, and apparently one of the instructors tried to put it into a spin and couldn’t). And heck, you wouldn’t even need to land, as it comes w/ a ballistic recovery system–that is, a parachute for the entire damn airplane. And plenty of range–something like ~900 NM, if I recall.

[robert_columbia]

@the_diego

Flying boat. It can pick you up even if the island is just big enough to fit you and one palm tree. It also has a longer range than a helicopter.

I’m going to second the seaplane thing. It doesn’t so much matter what model it is but the fact that you can land on water, which is typically flatter and more forgiving than land if you goof up.

If you were stranded in the South Pacific, you could turn east and try to fly to Chile, land a hundred meters off of a densely packed beach, and wave for help. If you don’t speak Spanish, maybe there’s a phrasebook in the documentation, or otherwise any major city down there is going to have a few English speakers, you’ll probably be ok.

Not perfect, but I’d rather hit the water a little two fast and get dunked than hit the ground too fast and splatter all over the runway.

[GusNSpot]

@48Willys

For a non-pilot, I suggest one of Burt Rutan’s designs. A long EZ perhaps. while not a rugged aircraft, it has a useful characteristic in that it is extremely hard to stall. This would go a long way toward preventing the deadly stall-spin scenario. We do want them to arrive alive, right? It has tricycle gear which is easier to fly then the “conventional” tail-dragger. It also is fairly simple with basic instruments and controls.

Another easy-to-fly aircraft would be an ERCO Ercoupe. No rudder peddles to learn to coordinate with the ailerons for safe flight. Once again not rugged, but it is small and tricycle gear. It has great visibility for the novice pilot. IIRC, it also has simple and basic instruments and controls.

For myself, a trusty Cessna 172, thanks. One from 1956-1959 please. I want the O-300-D engine, long range tanks, a Robertson STOL kit, Robinson STOL vortex generators, and tundra tires. I love the 40 degrees of flaps and the Johnson bar control for them.

Optionally, I would take a Maule, a Helio Courier, a 195, or a Cessna L-19. I would even take a Cessna 175, straight tail please!

Once you fly a square tail, you’ll never want to go back.

Except for the 195 of course.

For a noob, the Ercoupe or a Rutan EZ variation would be the most survivable. IMO

[blondebear]

If you don’t have to fly too far (say 150 miles), a Hiller YROE might work.

[Folacin]

@drewtwo99

Interesting responses so far! I enjoyed reading things. I figured helicopters were a no-go; they have a reputation of being ridiculously difficult to fly.

Yes, assume the island has a runway if your aircraft needs one.

And you aren’t sure how far away land is, but assume that, magically, your aircraft is guaranteed to get you there if you can successfully launch it and land it.

I’d rules-lawyer it and pick a jet pack. I’m pretty sure they all have really crappy range, such that I could probably swim to (and likely see) my destination.

Unless there sharks with lasers, in which case I’ll go with one of the real planes the folks here are suggesting. I’ve landed a couple of different things in Flight Simulator, so, given a good manual I could probably do it for real and survive (no money on the plane being salvaged, though).

[Navigator66]

The Goodyear Blimp. Long low speed range. More important, low speed landing, for the self taught pilot in this situation, he’s only going to get one shot at it.