Brace Brace: The most valid point you make is about Flying the Aircraft First and foremost. I would certainly agree with you about that, and definately distractions during training are good practice. I have heard of examiners dropping their pen during the final stages of a glide approach and asking the student to retrieve it! (Good game!)
However, referring to your criticism of applying carb heat first, I would suggest that you consider the most common cause of engine failure is due to carb icing. This indeed would present itself initially as a drop in RPM, which MAY worsen to include rough running. Carb heat should be applied any time carb ice is anticipated or suspected and this may well sort things out before the engine actually quits.
But if the engine DOES quit, then ANY delay in applying carb heat will render the procedure useless as the exhaust temperature will plummet rapidly. This is why it is the first thing on the memory items and it really does not take more than a second to accomplish.
The second thing is to select Vg.
The last thing is to select a field and while doing so, evaluate whether you have a fire or mechanical failure since this may well determine your direction of turns and certainly your next actions.
There should be no hesitation about applying carb heat, if you even so much as suspect your engine is going to quit, because you NEED all that heat from the exhaust before it disappears for good!
If time permits, and you get into the "What's up" drills, then you would have the luxury of experimenting with different carb heat, mixture and throttle settings to get the smoothest running out of a sick engine.
But in essence I'm with you all the way on the importance of flying the aircraft first and not letting your head get inside the cockpit at the expense of what's outside.
Oh, and before I forget... about cranking the engine.
Good idea IF the prop has stopped. Don't do it if the prop is turning because a) it's unnecessary and b) The starter could jam in the flywheel making matters worse.
Why would the prop stop? Well in your average cessna or warrior it probably wouldn't - as you say.
But it does depend a bit on the circumstances and the aircraft, so it would be wrong to assume that it would never happen for the purposes of a check list. Hence the phrase "If prop stopped then Crank".
Some possible causes: New engine with tight bearings and piston rings, engine quits in slow flight or during a climb before attitude recovered sufficiently to keep the prop windmilling.
High compression ratio, or partially seized bearings or services, low oil pressure, constant speed govenor loses oil or partial pressure... any number of things. Perhaps you feathered it already and given the time decided to give the restart another go, (common procedure in Multi Engine).
Last edited by LD Max; 11th August 2004 at 00:01.