I just saw the rather weak remake of Flight of the Phoenix this weekend and got to wondering: What would you folks do in a similar circumstance? Here's the situation: You've just crashed in the Gobi desert. You're not sure of your exact location but you were a couple hundred miles off course when you went down. Being found by SAR is unlikely given your general whereabouts and the relative lack of importance of your passengers and cargo. It's nearly two hundred miles to the nearest town. You have 30 pints of water per survivor, no radio (or GPS, ELT etc) and local geologic conditions have a severe influence on compasses. You may ignore the possibilty of having both a (model) airplane designer and a machine shop's worth of fabrication tools and there are no nomadic smugglers in the area. Do you stay put or hoof it? Split up or stay together? Hire an acting coach for Dennis Quaid or rent the Jimmy Stewart original?

Ed