A good read this thread, for anybody who flies twins!
From a students point of view however, I've never had any problem with having the mixture cut on simulated EFATO. I've never felt unsafe, but of course I've never experienced a problem restarting the engine when the instructor is setting simulated feather. I personally don't see it as a big issue, as there's certainly a multitude of other problems that COULD happen, unrelated to the engine, that would stop the aircraft from climbing/maintaing height.
Does having the mixture cut as opposed to closing the throttle have any affect as to how the student would see and respond to a real life scenario? In my scenarios, the instructor has always used his other hand to shelter my eyes from the mixture, leaving it up to me to decipher which engine has failed as per instruments, visual clues or whatever it may be. Additionally, I personally felt a slight urgency to learn and conduct my checks accurately with the mixture cut as opposed to being able to immediately apply climb power if I stuffed anything up.
Last edited by seneca208; 26th May 2012 at 03:28.