Originally Posted by
Piper.Classique
There is always someone who thinks they know better. Major engine failure, great situational awareness, controlled flight and engine out circuit to a safe (and smooth) landing. All critics please present themselves for a competition to see if they can do better.
My evaluation of the demonstrated performance was not a criticism of what the pilot did, or the outcome. It was a comment on all those who seem to be saying he did it perfectly. Why not learn something from the discussion?
I have no intention of failing the engine in either of my airplanes just to see how well I would handle it. I did win my club's recent spot landing contest with a simulated engine fail approach (idle power before base turn) that touched down 49 feet past the mark. Only the best one counted but my other attempts were 91 feet long and 50 feet short. I'm reasonably confident that I could handle an engine failure that left me in gliding range of a runway.
The hard part for me is accepting the less than 8:1 glide ratio after over 3,000 hours in gliders.