Well, I've read the whole thread, very interesting. There is obviously no definitive height that can be applied to all situations/aircraft. To my way of thinking this amounts to how much height is lost for a given radius of turn with no power, in my aircraft, without "losing it". The other thing I would try is how much height do I need for a "circuit" to land into wind. Now, the next thing is, when I do this exercise at the safe altitude of 2000ft+ & wx permitting, I will not under any circumstances hold any of you responsible for whatever outcome. The aircraft is a Piel Emeraude CP301-A, 90hp Continental. It stalls at 40kn with a heavy passenger (ATPL training Captain) just to keep the Nanny state at bay. I have 210hrs total, 120 on type. So perhaps that puts me in the low hours killing zone category, I am 72yrs old in a few days & intend to raise that figure by a factor of 1.3 at least. I suppose I should also say that the strip I fly from has numerous options for land ahead on both ends of the runway, so I am unlikely to need this option.
Whoever said that this "training" is unnecessary unless you might need it is wrong in my opinion, there is always a use for training/practice in whatever form.
The purpose of such an exercise for myself would be to enhance my knowledge of my aircraft's performance as well as mine at the edge of our envelopes, I do not have a POH.
It seems a pity that discussions such as this brings out such a lot of "Don't do this at home" advice. Perhaps this sort of thing should be taught at PPL "close throttle, perform 360 deg turn with height loss of no more than xft", preferably with stall warner blaring, if you have one.
n5296s
I think you are hitting all the nails on the head, keep it up..