But it's the OEI provisions that get me. What happens when you get just enough round the turn to point at the hilltops and one engine packs in, requiring an immediate roll-off to 15 degrees AOB?
(Caveat - comments relate to the old SID procedure)
Having laid the procedure over the terrain for a number of aircraft, the flying was not a problem - the run of the mill airline aircraft of the day fitted in around the hills quite nicely and I guess that the present situation is not too different.
The main thing was for the support pilot to put his nose on the window to be able to see when to call the turn. As with any jet departure predicated on a visual call, the hardest bit usually is trying to see where you are .. rather than where the ground is 1-2 miles away, considering visual cutoff angles ..
Once the turn was complete, one headed off towards Antartica for the initial recovery ...
What the SID says and what one does during an engine failure are not necessarily the same thing.
It's important to keep in mind that we didn't follow the SID OEI. The escape diverged part way around the initial turn. AEO, one was above a difficult position by the time one reached the point of divergence.
If you are concerned about the bad hair day sort of thing with additional problems AEO reducing the gradient .. then you were going to be very uncomfortable with a failure thrown in for good measure. One needs to remember that there are no guarantees .. only probabilities .. and that sometimes, that unpleasant stuff happens.
So it gives you the ability to trade speed for height and bring the speed back to V2 or appropriate.
As I recall, that SID had some tight speed criteria. In general, if one is interested in turning in and amongst the hills .. one MUST be VERY attentive to speed as speed dictates turn radius for a given bank angle. If one is a few knots above V2 min, one probably is better hanging onto those few knots for the improved gradient provided the speed is within the maximum prescribed for radius considerations.