Originally Posted by
Pilot DAR
...as much Vy as possible, while clearing the obstacle.
I think that maintaining Vy following takeoff until reaching at least 1,000 AGL is very important - whether in a single or a twin.
Altitude is potential energy, and the more potential energy you have, the more options you have. Speed, on the other hand, is kinetic energy, and the more kinetic energy you have, the bigger a hole you make when you hit the ground.
Furthermore, in most singles and small (12,500 lb or less) twins, Vg is usually pretty close to Vy, which means one less thing to have to do (adjust speed) following an engine failure.
For many years, I taught pilots of large twin-engine commuter category aircraft in classroom & simulators. Many pilots would tell me they always wanted to get well above Vy after takeoff for various reasons - time to respond to an engine failure, keeping a distance above Vmc, etc. My response was always the same:
"If you know in advance that you are going to have an engine failure (one or both) 30 seconds after rotation, what speed would you choose to climb at?" After thinking for a few moments, they usually responded
"Vy". If they didn't, we'd go into the simulator and fly the exercise (engine failure - one or both - 30 seconds after takeoff) using their preferred technique, and using Vy. The results were always better when Vy was used.
Michael