What would you do if you lost an engine on takeoff and you were at your single engine service ceiling without runway left (High elevation airport) would you put the gear down or up to land?
When did you toss the engine and is the gear even up yet?
We are often well above our single engine service ceiling in Density Altitude here in summer. Well above it.
Guaranteed drift down and remember the performance chart is for when the aircraft is clean and the prop on the dead engine is feathered. Performance is significantly worse in any other configuration.
We discuss the pros and cons of pulling it up too soon after positive rate on poor performance days. The POH says it’s 13+ seconds in transit and all of the drag won’t go away until it’s all the way up.
If your performance chart shows your single engine climb rate is negative on a hot day, you can reverse calculate when you should bring it up.
Because even if you had it in transit on certain days, you’re going to impact somewhere in roughly two seconds at the typical downward speed and time you have before ground contact.
You MIGHT want the gear under you when you hit.
It’s worth running the numbers and deciding well before you go start the engines and push the throttles up. And if it just started up and you toss an engine right then at super low altitude you MIGHT just want to reach for the gear handle first and get it back down.
The extra drag MIGHT just help you get it back on the remaining runway and get it stopped before going through the fence. Or at least slower.
Your call. Most light twins won’t climb or do anything near a climb on a really hot day here. Best to think about it, have a plan, announce the plan as part of your out loud pre-takeoff brief, and fully understand the risk you’re about to take.
Maybe even calculate your own Accelerate-Stop distance, since most light twins don’t provide it. Know your runway length. And take a look at what’s on the other side of the airport fence even. In certain scenarios, you’re going there.
I might accept the lower climb rate with the gear hanging out for a few seconds if the two engine climb rate can get me to where I can’t use the available remaining runway. Especially when it takes 13 seconds by the book to get into the wheel wells on the airplane I was flying.
In practice with no obstacles, this turns into rotation, a positive rate call out, hand on the throttles, a Vy climb, count to two or three potato and now we can’t use the remaining runway, now throw the handle and as the drag disappears pitch slightly more up to maintain Vy. Because you’ve already calculated that you can’t climb on one anyway.
If the failure happens before the gear handle is up, great. Land straight ahead and get on the brakes. Accept it. If it happens after the handle is up MAYBE you can feather it in time to get level flight out of it at blue line or even a slight descent. If not, you have a few seconds to pick the best off field landing spot. Either way, you accept the performance you get and choose accordingly.
And don’t feather the wrong mill.
If you haven’t practiced going around the pattern at only 500’ AGL due to a simulated partial power loss, you should sometime at an airport where such a maneuver is reasonable. It looks different and people tend to stay a little too close to the runway and need too big a bank to turn base and final.
If anything just make a continuous turn monitoring airspeed and be willing to put the nose down when you lose some of your vertical component of lift to make the last turn(s).
, but I've seen enough very experienced pilots try to feather the wrong prop that I'm planning on taking my time. I'd rather hit the ground at a planned low sink rate than at a surprised no-thrust rate.
