previous practice in finding out minimum power for level flight, and enough knowledge about the fuel/air induction systems to juggle the carb heat and mixture, that allowed me to make a decent assessment and response.
All of which can be found out for one's self.....no leading by the hand and spoon-feeding required
I am sure that any putative instructor reading this thread, will have cause to consider where the gaps are in his knowledge.
I don't care if the instructor has 5 hours total time since qualifying, he has not absorbed the basic training and fundamental physics of flight, if he doesn't understand the inherent risks of a slow turn.
Any power is useful to "stretch the glide",especially when confronted with a sea of rooftops! When there's a good choice of inviting fields below, with the furrows in the right direction, there may be a case for a Gimli re-enactment....otherwise, one roof is very much like another, a part-performing donk will give a little bit of extra flight-time to check the obvious (fuel-cock/selector) and carb-heat in some circumstances, followed ,Iwould think, by mixture......A mechanical or Mag failure is usually beyond your control,but a bit of power still gives you some thinking -time. I would be very wary of throwing away one card in a very poor hand,under the circumstances.
I don't buy the "the system's given him a ticket, therefore he thinks he is a professional" scenario.....anyone complacent enough to assume that exam passed = know it all, is not suited to responsibility!
@
mad jock [quoteWell to be fair I don't think she will cause any accidents from her grave.][/quote]
Thankfully, no, but I'll lay odds on that she caused a fair few accidents! My late partner drove over 40years without a license
and one trip with her was enough to convince me to ALWAYS drive.....she came back from a trip to the local shop, accompanying Mother, a nervous wreck....highlights included a 12 mile detour because she took the wrong turning, a close inspection and testing of the characteristics of the opposite-side verge (got distracted) sailing through junctions without priority
......
No, I never risked it, personally!
Forgot to say, Mother only drove Automatics, a clutch and gear-lever were a leap too far!