In my initial multi-training, the first few ‘engine failures’ were carried out by closing the throttle; thereafter routinely by using the mixture (and the piece of paper to hide the mixture controls). EFATO using mixture cuts was carried out both between 300’ - 500’ , and above 500’. Failing between 300’ - 500’ meant that after correct identification (by ‘actually’ closing the throttle slowly - I only started to turn the aircraft into a glider once, and learnt not to rush things!), a decision to feather (by touch drill) could be made quickly, and this is what the instructor was after: no faffing about!. The mind is really focused below 500’, but taken calmly, there is ample time and the aircraft flies quite happily. Of course, it does depend on aircraft type, weight, temperature, altitude etc, but the pre-flight check of single-engine rate of climb for the day gives some idea of the likely performance when the engine quits. I think it should be borne in mind that training is rarely carried out at MTOW, but in real life that is just what we are likely to have when the engine quits after take-off. Do mixture cuts really pose that much of a problem when there is a reasonable single engine rate of climb?
In the cruise, down to 1000’ AGL, an engine was routinely (and secretively!) shut down by turning the fuel off (that troublesome five year old in the back seat!). This enabled a full sequence of vital actions to be carried out including the ‘fix’ - check of fuel pressure, fuel pump on, check - change tanks etc. From previous posts, I feel this will be viewed with horror, but I felt quite happy with it. All, in all, I became confident in dealing with the various scenarios and flying around with one engine, even when the houses were rather closer than I would have liked! It seems to be a balance between safety and realism, but I never felt at all uncomfortable.
I also had to do an engine shut-down (and subsequent air start) for my twin rating, at about 5000’ AGL. The instructor shouted “left (or right) engine on fire”, and woe betide me if the engine wasn’t shut down in seconds. I could now do this in my sleep - which is the aim of it all, I suppose.
I think I have waffled on enough, and apologies if I have digressed from the original post, but two points:
1) Landing with a feathered prop means a go-around is impractical (and therefore there is a huge added risk). I would favour the zero thrust method.
2) Why is the mixture cut method a problem? Why, precisely, do so many people view it as dangerous? Can someone enlighten me?