wbarnhill said:
Hrm.. wonder why we never went over anything about restart. Probably in the interest of time.
During my first visit to SimCom to go through Baron school the instructor failed an engine (in a simulator) in IMC conditions. I put the engine away and made a less than perfect single engine ILS approach to a nearby airport. The instructor shook his head and said lots of people do that. He explained that he had simply failed the engine driven fuel pump and that if I had gone through my restart checklist I would have caught it, flipped on the electric fuel pump, and flown away fat, dumb, and happy. Restart checklist? No one had ever discussed trying to restart the failed engine before and this is still the only instructor who has done so.
There may be better memory devices out there, but here's what this particular instructor used:
Oh gee, I am falling!
O - Oil pressure (you're always watching that, right? If it drops and the engine dies go to item 5)
G - Gas. (switch tanks, fuel pumps, crossfeed, whatever...)
I - Ignition (check mags on)
A - Air (induction air or carb heat)
F - Feather (If you're in a single you can substitute freely here)
As far as some of the longer lists for preparing for off field landings go, those make sense but I wouldn't be surprised if they are hard to remember when the emergency actually arises. I think I've told this story before on the AOPA board: I used to fly without my sholder restraint, thinking I would put it on if I was ever faced with an off field landing. When I had the fire in the Baron and landed in a field it was three days before I remembered that I hadn't put my sholder strap on.
I've heard that during an emergency, "If it doesn't come automatically, it doesn't come at all." I believe it. Practice, practice, practice....
Chip