Hear hear, TET. Or is it Here, here? I never was sure.
It's not the only solution, but it's definitely one of them.
If as much time was spent teaching decision and judgement skills as opposed to engine/tail rotor failure procedural skills, then I'm convinced we'd see a reduction in the CFIT accidents.
CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain) is just as pertinent if it is a hangar door on a still clear day as it is into a hill on a foggy day. Only the last couple of seconds in either type of accident doesn't really consitute the "C" bit but the rest of the "FIT" certainly er.... fits.
Look at the stats. How many people have killed themsleves, injured thenselves, or damaged the aircraft due to engine or other equipment failure? I don't consider carb icing or engine failures due running on one mag as engine failure. It is pilot induced.
Compare this to the accidents caused by practising emergencies, and by people crashing into things on landing and take off (ie the flat ground beneath their skids) and flying in weather conditions beyond their capability.
Is the practicing of auto after auto after auto really the best way to spend time spent with an instructor? The engines don't fail these days, if you believe the stats.
And, ask any newly qualified pilot whether they think they could walk away from an undamaged aircraft in the event of a genuine engine failure in a R22. The honest ones will say "no".
So maybe it would be better to get the basic skills sorted, instill the concept that if the aircraft has failed, for whatever reason, then the only relevant thing is to stay alive. Sod the aircraft.
Then spend the time instilling the ability to land in a sensible place safely with the engine still running (should the weather turns nasty), and to get the student or early hours pilot to learn what constitutes a sensible landing site -- be this next to a hangar door, in a tennis court or on the apron of a very large airfield.
The sensible place will vary with the pilot, the time of day, the weather conditions and aircraft type -- but the understanding and interpretation of these factors remain a constant.
What do you think, Hover Motivator?
Big Ls.
That is exactly the direction that the Robinson factory course is now trying to get across.
HTC