Originally Posted by
Aicila2491
Hello everyone. Thank you in advance for your time reading and answering my question.
I would like to know if it is convinient, worth it and smart to ask my flight school or Chief Pilot to train Autorotations with the engine actually off and to train manual RRPM skills (i.e. Governor Off).
The Pilot's Operating Handbook states " Flight is prohibited with governor selected off, with the exceptions for in-flight system malfunction or emergency procedures training"
The reason for me wanting to train this way is to get comfortable in hazardous conditions and learn how to really identify the incipient stages of both emergency situations.
thanks again,
A
IMHO
Governor off training is a must, as already stated they should be doing with you anyway.
It is a shame the correlator off(disconnected) training couldn’t be done to give the student a solid foundation of actual throttle movement at different power settings.
Power off auto with no engine is a very bad idea as stated above.
Power off auto with engine on is also not worth the risk.
I have taught power off and powered recovery and the extra risk isn’t worth it for the power off. If you can manoeuvre the aircraft to a defined spot and flare at various speeds followed by levelling the skids you are prepared.
As a student you will spend a hell of a lot of time doing autos but in the real world they are pretty rare. Engines have become more and more reliable both piston and turbine. I’m not saying they should not be learnt rather that a lot of time is spent on that emergency at the cost of others that are statistically much more likely to get you.
In the real world you don’t get an engine failure over a nice landing spot with plenty of over and undershoot. Even then the bit that normally kills people is the top bit and not getting the entry right. Power off practice autos by necessity teach you how to do a perfect auto at 55kts there’s not much margin before the instructor has to intervene to keep it safe.
For an actual failure you may have to accept a flare entry speed well away from optimum but that allows you to get into a clear area away from trees/building etc
As for teaching the incipient stages of engine failure that’s very hard to do realistically. Chopping the throttle isn’t the same as throwing a piston. Just focus on reacting by lowering the lever as appropriate followed by confirming it is an engine failure and not something else.