Hehe. Unless you're farting helium you're going to land in the Liberator with two engines out. After the engine out work on my checkride my left leg was jello!! While working up for the checkride we did a simulated 3 engine ILS to some field in central Florida on one of those 90 degree, 99% humidity days and of course had to do the missed from DH. I got the sink stopped but then flew the length of the 7000' foot runway before we finally started to climb again. It takes about 18 seconds for the gear to retract and the hydraulic system can't handle gear and flaps at the same time so you dang sure better have gotten the flaps up to 20 degrees before starting the gear cycle. Slowly accel from the 120IAS approach speed to the 140 you want for climb.
Dang, I really do miss flying that airplane!!
Unless one has had some 4 engine training or check out in something with 4 fans, most people wouldn't appreciate, as I do, your chance of a life time, to fly those old WW2 war birds, the 17G and the 24. We to had to do 3 engine ILS approaches to decision height, usually, 200 feet above the runway and then hear the dreaded words, "runway disabled, go around"! Fortunately, I had a lot more power at my disposal with which to carry out the missed approach procedure. (In case anyone is wondering, we didn't really shut down one engine, we just had the power reduced to zero thrust, to simulate a dead engine! on the 29, it was 12 inches manifold pressure and full RPM). As someone once said, the best time to know emergency procedures and the worst time to pratice them is during a "real" emergency!!
One thing you, out of a survival mood, always have a plan of some kind, which will enable you to survive in any emergency! I had mine one night in a C-46, which I was flying as copilot. Had went to work for freight outfit with C-46's, DC-6B's and "Connies". Having been told that I would be move up to DC-6B's after about of 100 hours in the C-46 to learn company procedures and etc. The Captain I had that night, was drinking, I smelled it on him in Kansas City before takeoff. It was confirmed when we lined up on the runway, he locked the tail wheel, pushed his seat back and said, "you got it all the way to Willow Run". Since I had about 10 hours in the a/c, 6 for type rating, and 1 trip, thought I could handle it OK, so pushed Throttles up and away we went. IFR all the way with thunderstorms and the whole nine yards, 1600 feet RVR at runway of intended landing. We had picked up a little ice when making the penetration and we had about a 20 to 25 knot crosswind, about 40 degrees across the runway. Wasn't getting any help out of the so called captain, he was asleep, I decided if the thing got away from me attempting the landing, I would just jerk the gear out from under it and take my chances on a belly landing! After all there was a fire department there and emergency equipment, but as it turned out, I dribbled the thing about 4,000 feet down the runway, got it stopped, unlocked the tail wheel, turned to taxi to terminal and all the Captain had to say was "Helluva a Landing". I left the company after that!
