Final 3 greens wrote:
Your comments in your last sentence don't make sense for most aeroplane pilots, as we'd be climbing away at VS x 1.3 or a similar figure pretty quickly after lift off.
I think you would be surprised. A winch launching glider is normally climbing at more than VS x 1.3. If the launch fails, the pilot needs to push over
immediately to around 45 degrees nose down, and it may take an appreciable time (2-3 seconds or more) for the airspeed to regain VS x 1.3. A delay of only a few seconds, if launch speed is VS x 1.5 or less, is likely to lead to a stall, though the climbing attitude is probably steeper than most powered a/c..
Now imagine a far draggier powered a/c in the same situation - I'd guess that at the top of the push over the airspeed might be less than VS (but reduced G so still flying), and maybe 5+ seconds to regain flying speed.
The only way to know for sure would be to try this for real (at height, obviously!). Adopt normal climb, stop engine (noting altitude as you do so), push over, pull out when flying speed is regained (again noting altitude). Add a margin to allow for slowed reactions if it happens for real.
The point is that I wouldn't rely on inertia to help you out for long in a climbing attitude if the engine stops, whatever your starting airspeed.