I think the point Pete was trying to make is regardless of how much you "know" your brain is not yet engaged in the 1-2 seconds it takes to arrest the rotor RPM decay at high speeds.
To respond to a stimulus it must be detected by the senses, processed through the cerebral cortex, verified, and then muscles must move to respond, then the aircraft itself must respond. This whole process takes 4.6-5.0 seconds as confirmed by numerous tests in many countries including the UK. I may be able to dig them up if anyone is interested; they were cited in a Wirestike lawsuit I was involved in. The only reason pilots are able respond quickly enough with control inputs in a real sudden engine failure is exactly because they DO NOT use their brain, not the cerebral cortex anyway. A reaction can occur in just a fraction of a second, butr eactions must be conditioned, contingent.
If you teach as PG advised to make the aft cyclic part of your reaction then you can survive high speed engine failures. True, that on some engine failures below vy, it might be un-needed, or it’s possible it could even prevent you from getting to a better spot because you have slowed yourself to much.
The alternative however is to teach as TC suggested, to lower the collective and consider your spot which is going to take 4.6-5 seconds and in some highspeed engine failures that are truly surprises, time might not be sufficient to do that.
Pete has been teaching autorotations to experieced pilots for 35 years. He is one of the most highly respected instructors in the us, he is not over inflating his esperience.
Like many of you I agree, that it isn't that pilots do not know that at high speeds aft cyclic is required. If asked in a classroom they will all tell you that. What Pete's point is they dont do it when they need to because it has not been trained to be a reaction and he sees it person, likely daily.
I learned down and aft simultaneously, and then consider your spot and I believe that is the way to go.
(Edited to add the last paragraphs)
Last edited by 500guy; 13th Dec 2013 at 19:36.