So there I was, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... a brand new student pilot who owned my own plane, out flying around in the practice area at HMT.
As I prepared to set up to practice maneuvers, I reached down and pulled the carb heat back prior to reducing power. Immediately, the engine quit.
I learned several valuable lessons that day.
1. I respond by the book to emergencies. Immediately and simultaneously pitching for airspeed while determining where to land.
2. It's impressive how the plane just kind of sits there and doesn't fall out of the sky.
3. Always 'Fly the Plane' first, worry about the other stuff (troubleshooting) after you've got the flying under control.
4. Always, touch, then identify and what the heck, identify again BEFORE applying the action.
5. The prop will continue windmilling (As long as you maintain airspeed)
6. Engines make a whole lot more noise with the mixture in.
7. With the prop windmilling, the engine will start right up as soon as you increase mixture.
I like Bob's suggestion. Go out and do it. If you're not comfortable, take a CFI who is. Just make sure you have the altitude and a good place to land. It's really no biggy.
Later on, I would frequently have friends who would fly with me, but were still a little afraid that if the engine quit, we were going to fall out of the sky.
While climbing up to altitude, Id talk to them about how well the plane would glide, and then point out in the distance about 20 miles away and say, "See that dry lake bed out there... If the engine quit right now, that's where we'd land".
As they argued with me in disbelief, I'd reach down and pull the mixture.
Each one of them was impressed beyond words and they never again feared the plane was going to fall out of the sky.
PJ
