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HOW TO STEER YOUR BIKE DOWN A ROCK FACE
1 Choose a line to follow.
The instant you feel the bike pitching forward downslope, look ahead of you and choose the line that you will follow down the rock face. The line should be as free of large boulders, drop-offs, and deep ruts as possible. Follow this line.
2 Adjust your seating position.
Move slightly “out of saddle,” above the seat with your knees bent, similar to a jockey on a horse running down the stretch. Keep your weight shifted toward the back of the saddle, or behind it, to counteract the pull of gravity.
3 Move the pedals to the 3 and 9 o’clock positions.
Keep your feet on the pedals, with the pedals positioned across from one another. Do not put your feet straight up (12 o’clock) and down (6 o’clock), where the risk of making contact with rocks or the ground is greater. It is also more difficult to maintain a level position with the pedals straight up and down.
4 Heavily apply the rear brake.
On most bikes, squeezing the brake lever by your right hand will apply the rear brake. Do so as you ride downslope to maintain control of the bike. If you do not brake sufficiently, you risk “bombing,” or speeding out of control down the rock face. Apply the brakes enough to maintain a speed that enables you to see oncoming obstacles in your path.
5 Feather the front brake.
Using your left hand (on most bikes), gently apply the front brake as you climb obstacles, and release it to maintain momentum as you overcome them. This gentle apply-and-release action is called “feathering.” Avoid applying the front brake suddenly and with full force, or the bike will stop short and you will pitch over the handlebars.
6 Keep the bike in the middle-to-low gear range.
Low gears are easier to pedal; high gears are harder. The gear should be low enough that you can pedal easily over an obstacle, but not so low that you don’t have any traction. It should not be so high that surmounting an obstacle becomes difficult or impossible.
7 Shift your weight.
As you approach large rocks and boulders, shift your body back to take the weight off the front wheel. This shift will allow the front wheel to more easily ride up and over the obstruction.
Choose a line to follow down the rock face.
8 Keep your knees and elbows bent.
Bend your knees and elbows to absorb shocks and to make fast, fluid position changes easier.
9 Bail if you lose control.
If you feel yourself gaining sudden momentum and you begin to lose control, do not attempt to stay with the bike: you do not want to crash while riding at high speed. Let the bike drop out from beneath you, guiding it so it lands on the non-derailleur side to minimize damage that might make the bike unrideable. Tuck your elbows and knees in as you roll to safety.
WARNING!
A wrong turn can send your mountain bike down a sheer rock face.
HOW TO SLOW OR STOP WITH NO BRAKES
1 Lean forward.
Angle your body forward on the seat, taking as much weight as you can off your rear tire.
2 Lock your legs and push your feet in the opposite direction of that in which the pedals are turning.
This will take a lot of strength. Push firmly against the forward momentum.
3 Make an abrupt turn to stop forward motion.
Lean into the turn and throw out one foot to prevent yourself from tipping over.
4 Whip the back end of the bike out to skid to a stop.
5 Jump forward off the seat.
Throw your legs down and drag yourself to a stop “Fred Flintstone style” with your feet.
6 Leap backward off the seat into a run.
If all efforts have failed and you’re about to ride into dangerous territory (e.g., into traffic or a tree), hurl yourself off the bike and roll up into a run.
Rubbing your foot firmly against the rear tire may also help slow it down.
If you are deliberately riding a bike without brakes, attach foot straps to your pedals to make stopping easier.
HOW TO TREAT ROAD RASH
1 Remove any clothing from around the wound.
Skidding when you fall off your bike will partially tear your clothing. Cut away or remove the rest.
2 Clean out debris.
Using sterile gauze, carefully brush away any debris, such as cloth, glass, gravel, leaves, or dirt that has gotten in the abrasion. Avoid scrubbing or rubbing, which can further irritate the wound.
3 Trim away dead skin.
Use sterile medical scissors to cut away any loose skin.
4 Irrigate with saline.
Flush out the wound with soap and warm water or a mild saline solution.
5 Apply a topical antibiotic ointment.
Cover the wound. Choose a dressing that won’t stick to the abrasion, such as gauze with petroleum jelly. Avoid plain gauze. Secure with medical tape.
6 Lift bandage daily.
Allow the wound to breathe and fluids to drain.
7 Change dressing often.
Clean wound daily with soap and water. Reapply ointment and cover with new gauze.
8 Watch for signs of infection.
Redness, pus, fever, or a foul smell can all be signs of infection.
Car-Doored
Throw your weight backward. Stand on the pedals and above the seat. Apply only the rear brakes. Turn slightly to the side to disperse the impact as you hit the door. If you land in the street, move immediately toward the curb to get out of the way of traffic.
WARNING!
Bike accidents are the most common cause of road rash. Wear protective clothing, especially if you are traveling at high speeds, and leathers if you’re on a motorcycle.
Avoid undiluted antiseptics, which can actually harm the tissue under the skin, delaying the healing process.
Verify when you had your last tetanus shot. Road rash can make you susceptible to tetanus, an infectious disease that can develop in burnlike abrasions.
Once healed, the area will be susceptible to sunburn. Apply a high-SPF sunscreen and keep covered when outside.
AIRPLANES
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HOW TO LAND A PLANE
1 If the plane has only one set of controls, push, pull, carry, or drag the pilot out of the pilot’s seat.
2 Take your place at the controls.
3 Put on the radio headset (if there is one).
Use the radio to call for help—there will be a control button on the yoke (the plane’s steering wheel) or a CB-like microphone on the instrument panel. Depress the button to talk; release it to listen. Say “Mayday! Mayday!” and give your situation, destination, and plane call numbers, which should be printed on the top of the instrument panel.
4 If you get no response, try again on the emergency channel—tune the radio to 1215.
All radios are different, but tuning is standard. The person on the other end should be able to talk you through the proper landing procedures. Follow their instructions carefully. If you cannot reach someone to talk you through the landing process, you will have to do it alone.
5 Get your bearings and identify the instruments.
Look around you. Is the plane level? Unless you have just taken off or are about to land, it should be flying relatively straight.
Yoke. This is the steering wheel and should be in front of you. It turns the plane and controls its pitch. Pull back on the column to bring the nose up, push forward to point it down. Turn left to turn the plane left, turn right to turn it right. The yoke is very sensitive—move it only an inch or two in either direction to turn the plane in flight. While cruising, the nose of the plane should be about three inches below the horizon.
Altimeter. This is the most important instrument, at least initially. It is a red dial in the middle of the instrument panel that indicates altitude: the small hand indicates feet above sea level in thousand-foot increments, the large hand in hundreds.
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Heading. This is a compass and will be the only instrument with a small image of a plane in the center. The nose will point in the direction in which the plane is headed.
Airspeed. This dial is on the top of the instrument panel and will be on the left. It is usually calibrated in knots, though it may also have miles per hour. A small plane travels at about 120 knots while cruising. Anything under 70 knots in the air is dangerously close to stall speed. (A knot is 11/4 miles per hour.)
Throttle. This controls airspeed (power) and also the nose attitude, or its relation to the horizon. It is a lever between the seats and is always black. Pull it toward you to slow the plane and cause it to descend, push it away to speed up the plane and cause it to ascend. The engine will get more or less quiet depending on the direction the throttle is moved.
Fuel. The fuel gauges will be on the lower portion of the instrument panel. If the pilot has followed FAA regulations, the plane should have enough fuel for the amount of flying time to your intended destination plus at least an additional half hour in reserve. Some planes have a reserve fuel tank in addition to the primary one, but do not worry about changing tanks.
Flaps. Due to their complexity, wing flaps can make the plane harder to control. To control the airspeed, use the throttle, not the flaps.
6 Begin the descent.
Pull back on the throttle to slow down. Reduce power by about one-quarter of cruising speed. As the plane slows, the nose will drop. For descent, the nose should be about four inches below the horizon.
7 Deploy the landing gear.
Determine if the plane has fixed or retractable landing gear. Fixed landing gear is always down, so you need do nothing. If it is retractable, there will be another lever between the seats near the throttle, with a handle that is shaped like a tire. For a water landing, leave the landing gear up (retracted).
8 Look for a suitable landing site.
If you cannot find an airport, find a flat field on which to land. A mile-long field is ideal, but finding a field of this length will be difficult unless you are in the Midwest. The plane can land on a much shorter strip of earth, so do not bother to look for the “perfect” landing site—there is no such thing. Bumpy terrain will also do if your options are limited.
9 Line up the landing strip so that when the altimeter reads 1,000 feet, the field is off the right-wing tip.
In an ideal situation, you should take a single pass over the field to look for obstructions; with plenty of fuel, you may want to do so. Fly over the field, make a big rectangle, and approach a second time.
10 When approaching the landing strip, reduce power by pulling back on the throttle.
Do not let the nose drop more than six inches below the horizon.
11 The plane should be 100 feet off the ground when you are just above the landing strip, and the rear wheels should touch first.
The plane will stall at 55 to 65 miles per hour, and you want the plane to be at just about stall speed when the wheels touch the ground.
12 Pull all the way back on the throttle, and make sure the nose of the plane does not dip too steeply.
Gently pull back on the yoke as the plane slowly touches the ground.
13 Using the pedals on the floor, steer and brake the plane as needed.
The yoke has very little effect on the ground. The upper pedals are the brakes, and the lower pedals control the direction of the nose wheel. Concentrate first on the lower pedals. Press the right pedal to move the plane right, press the left pedal to move it left. Upon landing, be aware of your speed. A modest reduction in speed will increase your chances of survival exponentially. By reducing your ground-speed from 120 to 70 miles per hour, you increase your chance of survival threefold.
WARNING!
These instructions cover small passenger planes and jets, not commercial airliners.
A well-executed emergency landing in bad terrain can be less hazardous than an uncontrolled landing on an established field.
If the plane is headed toward trees, steer it between them so the wings absorb the impact if you hit.
When the plane comes to a stop, get out as soon as possible and get away—and take the pilot with you.
HOW TO LAND A PLANE ON WATER
1 Once you have determined your landing location, turn the autopilot off and reduce power by moving the throttle toward you.
Slowly move the throttle enough to cause the nose to drop and the plane to descend slightly. You will need to be at approximately 2,000 feet to be able to clearly see the water below you.
2 When the altimeter reads 2,000 feet, level the nose with the horizon using the yoke.
Increase power slightly by moving the throttle away from you if pulling back on the yoke does not work.
3 Assess the water ahead of you.
It is imperative that you land in calm water and that you avoid landing the plane in the face of swells, where there is a significant risk of waves breaking over the aircraft. The plane should be heading into the wind (called a headwind), so that you land on the back side of any waves.
4 Reduce power by moving the throttle toward you.
Do not use your flaps or your landing gear, which might catch on the water. Bring the plane to an altitude of 100 to 200 feet.
Jet Lag
To beat jet lag, drink a lot of water before, during, and after the flight. Exercise, eat, and sleep well immediately before the trip. Avoid drinking alcohol, and eat lightly in the air. Purchase a small self-inflating pillow to make your onboard sleep more comfortable.
5 Continue to reduce power until the tachometer reads 1,500 to 1,700 rpm or 15 to 17 inches of mercury.
6 Move the nose of the plane up at least 5 to 10 degrees above the horizon by pulling the yoke toward you slightly.
You must exercise a nose-up landing to keep the propeller out of the water and prevent the plane from flipping end-over-end. The angle of the nose should be such that the horizon is almost completely obscured.
7 Just before touchdown, make sure the throttle is in its farthest position toward you.
The plane should be no more than 10 feet above the water at this point.
8 Pull the red fuel mixture control knob toward you to cut fuel to the engine when the plane is about five feet above the water.
Use the surface of the water, not the altimeter, to judge your altitude at this low level.
9 Keep the nose up by pulling back gently on the yoke.
The plane should fall gently onto the water. Concentrate on making sure the rear of the plane hits the water first. If the plane has nonretractable landing gear, it will most likely flip over because the landing gear will catch on the water.
10 Open the door or window as soon as you hit the water, and quickly get out of the plane.
It may be difficult to open the door or window once you begin to sink. If you are unable to open the cabin door, kick out the windshield.
11 If the plane has life vests or a raft, inflate them outside of the plane.
The plane’s emergency location transmitter (ELT) should continue broadcasting your location to rescue personnel.
HOW TO SURVIVE AN AIRPLANE CRASH
To Decrease the Odds of a Crash
1 Take a nonstop flight, if possible.
Most accidents happen in the takeoff and landing phases of flight; the fewer stops you make, the less chance of an accident.
2 Watch the skies.
Many accidents involve severe weather. As takeoff time approaches, check the weather along the route, particularly in places where you will land. Consider delaying your flight if the weather could be severe.
3 Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants made of natural fibers.
Radiant heat and flash burns can be avoided if you put a barrier between you and the heat. Avoid easy-care polyester or nylon: most synthetic materials that aren’t specifically treated to be fire-resistant will melt at relatively low temperatures (300°F to 400°F). Synthetic fabrics will usually shrink bef
ore they melt, and if they are in contact with skin when this happens, they will make the burn—and its treatment—much more serious. Wear closed-toe, hard-soled shoes; you might have to walk through twisted, torn metal or flames. In many cases, people survive the crash but are killed or injured by post-impact fire and its by-products, like smoke and toxic gases.
4 Select a seat on the aisle, somewhere in the rear half of the cabin.
The odds of surviving a crash are higher in the middle-to-rear section compared with the middle-to-front section of the cabin. An aisle seat offers the easiest escape route access, unless you are sitting right next to an emergency exit: if you can get a window seat right next to the emergency exit, this is a better choice.
5 Listen to the safety briefing and locate your nearest exits.
Most airplane accident survivors had listened to the briefing and knew how to get out of the plane. Pick an exit to use in an emergency and an alternate in case the first one is not available.
6 Count the seats between you and the exits in case smoke fills the plane and you cannot see them.
Make sure you understand how the exit doors work and how to operate them.
7 Practice opening your seat belt a few times.
Many people mistakenly try to push the center of the buckle rather than pull up on it.
To Prepare for a Crash
1 Make sure that your seat belt is tightly fastened and that your chair back is fully upright.
2 Bend forward with one arm across your knees.
Place your pillow in your lap and hold your head against the pillow with your free arm.
Ultimate Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook Page 37