Hi again Alphaalpha:
Thanks for your reply and please understand that it is not my desire to embarrass you or anyone else here, my only reason for asking is to discuss the safe operation of aircraft.
There was some doubt in my mind as to exactly what you had described in your first description of the go around in the Cessna 310. With regard to the practice of single engine go arounds during training there is no operational reason why these exercises should not be carried out at an altitude sufficient to recover should the airplane depart from controlled flight. Say for instance four or five thousand feet above ground.
Arguably the most common loss of life in twin engine airplanes is due to engine failures and loss of control during the initial take off and climb out segment. A large precentage of such accidents are due to pilot error. Regardless of how poor the performance of any given light twin may be with an engine out there is no reason to depart controlled flight and roll over and make a lawn dart out of it.
Now I agree that the 310 lightly loaded has sufficient single engine climb performance to safely perform a go around and climb to a safe altitude, providing you start from a densitity altitude that allows sufficient climb performance.
I do however have some discomfort with the instructor allowing the situation to deteriroate to the point where the stall warning was sounding with gear and flaps down, from four hundred feet you in all likelyhood wouldnt have a prayer of recovery once it departed controlled flight.
My reason for going into all this discussion is simply because there is this missconseption among the great majority of pilots that their instructors are real experts and their teaching methods are beyond reproach, sadly in many cases this is not true.
One of the most frustrating and discouraging aspects of the business I am in is the low level of flying skills and understanding of flight that I observe among what should be qualified pilots.. .Re training is far more difficult than training as the habits and preceptions of how to fly are in most cases very difficult to erase.
May I add the comment that almost without exception I find the military trained pilots to be far superior in flying skills and knowledge of aerodynamics than civilian trained pilots. That of course is due to the quality of their instructors and the fact that money is not the same consideration generally speaking.
Anyhow I do appreciate your reply and trust that you take my comments as trying to help not hinder.. .: <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> . .................. .
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no.