....all of which makes one wonder why the Trislander wasn't more of a success!
These comments about the marginal peformance of light twins (an aeroplane class I actively avoid having anything to do with!) remind me of the brief I received when flying in the back of a 3 tank Meteor 7: "I will plan to take-off and accelerate to a speed at which it'll climb on one, holding it on the ground for as long as I dare. Once airborne, I'll climb at the least gradient I can until we achieve SE climb speed - if we lose an engine before then, I'll close both throttles and we'll force land straight ahead, I'll dump the ventral if I've got enough hands. Once we've achieved SE climb speed, we should be able to climb if we lose one; however, it won't be easy. After my initial blasphemy, I'll say 'Left' or 'Right' and I want you to push the rudder fully forward in that direction. I'll dump the ventral, get us away from the ground, shut down the offending engine and complete a cautious circuit. Committal height will be around 650ft, once we're below that it'll be more or less a glide landing. We will then bravely bug ger off to the Mess and get thoroughly pi$$ed!!"
Lift is a gift, but thrust is a must!