Practicing Engine Out Procedures

[N918KT]

So today, my CFI and I had a ground lesson on reviewing the presolo knowledge test and there was a question in the test that says what would happen if an engine failure occurs after takeoff. This brought up the concern on where around the airport traffic pattern could I land my airplane in event of an engine failure. Queen City Airport has a lot of buildings around there and the best place I thought where I could land my airplane was on a nearby highway (Interstate 78). He told me that is not a good idea because of course there are cars but also there are signs on the highway too, so attempting an emergency landing on Route 78 would end badly. There are a few options that I did not thought about before. One was landing on some nearby small fields not too far from the airport and another was if in the pattern on downwind, I could land on a crosswind runway.

So today we went up to practice takeoffs and landings. On downwind of runway 25, my CFI pulled the throttle and said "Okay your engine failed. Find a landing spot." I decided to land on the crosswind runway, runway 33. I was coming in too high, so he helped me with using full flaps and we descended like a rock. Then we initiated a go around on runway 33. We practiced a second simulated engine out landing. He pulled the throttle abeam runway 25 and told me to fly it to the runway without pushing in the throttle. My airspeed was slowly decreasing and I pushed down a little bit. By the looks of it I would have crash landed short of the runway so he told me to add throttle and I made a landing. We made another takeoff and landing and then call it a day.

Tomorrow, if the weather conditions allow, we might fly to the practice area and practice some emergency and engine out procedures. This should be interesting.

 

[frfly172]

You can practice all you want but if the engine fails you will be very busy ,very nervous and hoping to make a safe landing.how about engine out on takeoff?

 

[AggieMike88]

What aircraft were you in?

Sounds like you're also gaining some good experience in "energy management". Learning how to handle too high, too low, to slow, to fast.

 

[AggieMike88]

how about engine out on takeoff?

Which is why before I move from the runup area, I'm reciting out loud my plan of action on what I'm going to do if I lost the motor before lift off, just after lift off, 50 feet off, or 100+ feet off.

 

[N918KT]

Currently training in the Evektor Sportstar MAX LSA. Before the lesson today, a few days ago, I used Satellite/Hybrid Image Maps from Google to study the surrounding areas of Queen City Airport. At first glance, it seems like there were buildings around the airport and Route 78 passing by the airport. There were some fields nearby the departure end of runway 25 but I thought there were no suitable landing areas in other traffic pattern legs. It never crossed my mind to land on a crosswind runway until my CFI told me. Plus I had a lot of altitude to make it to the crosswind runway.

 

[Clark1961]

If it gets quiet then any fairly flat piece of ground is a fair target be it grass, taxiway, runway, ramp, golf course, what-have-you.

I watched a guy take the taxiway rather than the runway on an engine-out once. It was a little better geometry for the turn.

Looking at the AFD for XLL, it looks like there is a race track adjacent to the airport? lots of level spots there.

You're not necessarily looking for enough room to get it down and stopped, all ya gotta have is room to get it down and slowed.