Originally Posted by
KRviator
Has anyone had an instructor, or briefed to an instructor, words to the effect of "in the event of an engine failure before clean configuration and 200/500AGL I'll close the good throttle and land straight ahead"? If so, what was their reaction?
During my ME training it was SOP to accelerate to VYse then retract gear. Any engine failure before that would be rectified by closing both throttles and landing ahead. This was practiced over and over in the sim until it became second nature. My instructor was very much in favour of it. In a training environment on a light twin I personally think it's the way to go.
As has been said above it's notoriously difficult in many twin aircraft to climb and accelerate in TO config with a windmilling prop. Throw in poor pilot technique with an instructor who takes too long to take control and you've got a real problem. An engine failure that early on has a risk of loss of directional control, which I dare say is far more of a fatal issue than a twin glider with its gear down.
I suspect different skill levels can handle different procedures, but as a training ME pilot I felt most comfortable with this approach.