n5296s, the input was very useful. Though in real life I guess the prop might be windmilling?
Thanks also to Big Pistons Forever, I have seldom seen such concentrated common sense, especially "under fire".
It seems to me, (by no means a "Sky God"), that I wouldn't even consider the turn back under 500 ft in a C172 or similar, by which time I'm typically turning onto cross-wind, or even earlier for noise abatement etc, as somebody else posted.
So could we perhaps tone down the "Health and Safety" warnings a little if we re-cast the question as "what best to do with Engine Failure On Crosswind?" (EFOC?)
What we generally need to know is how much turning an average pilot can squeeze into any given height, especially if much draggier than usual because of a windmilling prop.
Just my 2c.