Instructing in a multiengine airplane is a highly rewarding experience. An instructor helps a student make the leap from the realm of single-engine flying principles and concepts into a twin that typically has better climb performance, higher cruising speeds, and greater capabilities overall. You also get to open your student’s eyes to something new and exciting. With these benefits, however, come some new challenges. The addition of an engine enhances safety but also adds some potential dangers in a training environment.
Most of these pitfalls exist when training a student for an engine-failure scenario, and during multiengine training the majority of the training time will focus on these procedures. As a multiengine instructor you know that a prescribed set of actions from the pilot needs to take place to remedy an engine failure situation. The actions taken depend on the flight regime and situation. An engine failure just after takeoff will require different actions than an engine failure at cruise.
This poses a challenge to the student and the instructor. The student is trying to decide which procedures he or she needs to utilize for the given scenario, and the instructor is monitoring the student’s actions while ensuring the exercise and aircraft continue safely. The student’s workload will be heavy, and the instructor’s will be even greater. The student will be running memory items, manipulating the throttle, mixture, propeller control, gear, flaps, and numerous other switches—depending on what the situation calls for. To further complicate your job, most of the switches and controls on most light twins are located directly in front of the student within easy reach. To minimize the chance of the operating engine being shut down, the instructor can teach some fundamental concepts to make the job easier while also teaching the student some good lifelong habits.
It should be no surprise that studying typically improves an individual’s performance on a test. Drilling aircraft procedures is no exception. As an instructor it is important to expose your student to procedural drills. These can be conducted in the cockpit on the ground, at a simulator, or even in a desk chair. Practicing each of the different engine-out scenarios helps students accomplish the necessary actions in a low-stress environment prior to the real exercise in the air. Practice really does make perfect, and getting procedures down on the ground is essential to smooth operations on a training flight.
Another challenge is getting your students to take their time. Again, there are a lot of procedures swimming around in their heads, and once the engine failure scenario occurs, they take action. Often the student will rush through the procedure, trying to accomplish it as quickly as possible. It is not necessarily the speed of the procedure that is important, but the accuracy. Hurrying increases the likelihood of making a mistake, and it becomes difficult for the instructor to ensure the procedure is being done correctly.
One strategy is to teach the student to monitor the flight attitude of the aircraft after every action item. This accomplishes two things. It forces the student to slow down between each control or switch manipulation. Think of it as a mini-break in which the brain and hands sync back up. It also ensures the airplane is being flown safely and not drifting off course or slowing to an unsafe airspeed.
One last tip is to teach students to manipulate only one switch or control at a time. Doing so gives you and your student time to recognize a mistake before it becomes an inoperative engine. Has your student ever mistakenly shut off a magneto on the operating engine? Has he or she ever shut off both magnetos? Flipping one switch at a time allows an instructor and a student to recognize a mistake. Did the performance on the operative engine just decrease when I turned off that mag?
Training for an engine failure does not need to be a terrifying experience. By flying the airplane, remaining methodical, manipulating one component at a time, and doing the procedure correctly, training your students for engine failures and other emergencies should go much more smoothly—and safely—for both of you. Mistakes will always happen, but
by following some simple guidelines a pilot can trap them before making the situation worse.
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Instructing in a multiengine airplane is a highly rewarding experience. An instructor helps a student make the leap from the realm of single-engine flying principles and concepts into a twin that typically has better climb performance, higher cruising speeds, and greater capabilities overall. You also get to open your student’s eyes to something new and exciting. With these benefits, however, come some new challenges. The addition of an engine enhances safety but also adds some potential dangers in a training environment.
Most of these pitfalls exist when training a student for an engine-failure scenario, and during multiengine training the majority of the training time will focus on these procedures. As a multiengine instructor you know that a prescribed set of actions from the pilot needs to take place to remedy an engine failure situation. The actions taken depend on the flight regime and situation. An engine failure just after takeoff will require different actions than an engine failure at cruise.
This poses a challenge to the student and the instructor. The student is trying to decide which procedures he or she needs to utilize for the given scenario, and the instructor is monitoring the student’s actions while ensuring the exercise and aircraft continue safely. The student’s workload will be heavy, and the instructor’s will be even greater. The student will be running memory items, manipulating the throttle, mixture, propeller control, gear, flaps, and numerous other switches—depending on what the situation calls for. To further complicate your job, most of the switches and controls on most light twins are located directly in front of the student within easy reach. To minimize the chance of the operating engine being shut down, the instructor can teach some fundamental concepts to make the job easier while also teaching the student some good lifelong habits.
It should be no surprise that studying typically improves an individual’s performance on a test. Drilling aircraft procedures is no exception. As an instructor it is important to expose your student to procedural drills. These can be conducted in the cockpit on the ground, at a simulator, or even in a desk chair. Practicing each of the different engine-out scenarios helps students accomplish the necessary actions in a low-stress environment prior to the real exercise in the air. Practice really does make perfect, and getting procedures down on the ground is essential to smooth operations on a training flight.
Another challenge is getting your students to take their time. Again, there are a lot of procedures swimming around in their heads, and once the engine failure scenario occurs, they take action. Often the student will rush through the procedure, trying to accomplish it as quickly as possible. It is not necessarily the speed of the procedure that is important, but the accuracy. Hurrying increases the likelihood of making a mistake, and it becomes difficult for the instructor to ensure the procedure is being done correctly.
One strategy is to teach the student to monitor the flight attitude of the aircraft after every action item. This accomplishes two things. It forces the student to slow down between each control or switch manipulation. Think of it as a mini-break in which the brain and hands sync back up. It also ensures the airplane is being flown safely and not drifting off course or slowing to an unsafe airspeed.
One last tip is to teach students to manipulate only one switch or control at a time. Doing so gives you and your student time to recognize a mistake before it becomes an inoperative engine. Has your student ever mistakenly shut off a magneto on the operating engine? Has he or she ever shut off both magnetos? Flipping one switch at a time allows an instructor and a student to recognize a mistake. Did the performance on the operative engine just decrease when I turned off that mag?
Training for an engine failure does not need to be a terrifying experience. By flying the airplane, remaining methodical, manipulating one component at a time, and doing the procedure correctly, training your students for engine failures and other emergencies should go much more smoothly—and safely—for both of you. Mistakes will always happen, but
by following some simple guidelines a pilot can trap them before making the situation worse.
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