t'aint
Although I do EOLs to the ground, I'm convinced that they are counter-productive.
I don't see how that can be. I always tought my students to be able to do an EOL that they could not only walk away from, but (provided they had been able to pick an area where it was possible to carry out a successful EOL), the aircraft would also sustain minimum damage. This also ensures that it is an EOl you can walk away from.
The best pilot in the world will turn the machine over fifty per cent of the time when landing off-airfield.
Where exactly do you get the statistics to back up this assertion?
During practice, we give a warning, and enter relatively gently. It's not like that in the real world.
Once they had built up a reasonable level of competence and confidence, I never used to give my students any warning during practice autos, nor did we enter gently - I just used to chop the throttle sharply, even in a climb, and afterwards say 'practice EOL'. It's surprising, even in a Robinson, just how much time there is to enter auto, and when a student knows that it can happen at any time when he/she is flying he/she will start to develop the instinct of always expecting it to happen and be looking out for a suitable emergency landing site.