Originally Posted by
Pilot DAR
If pilots were flying with this always in mind, there would be fewer injuries in EFATO events, and people would completely give up the idea of a 180 turn back!
I very much agree with the above. I each my students that a normal takeoff is Vy airspeed to 1000 feet AGL. Vx is only used on an actual short field and the airplane is accelerated to Vy as soon as the obstacles are cleared.
A useful exercise is to, at altitude and in a practice area, establish a Vx climb at full power. When the speed has stabilized, abruptly close the throttle but do not lower the nose. The time from loss of power to stall will be an eye opener. Now do the same exercise and practice transitioning to the glide at the moment of failure. I think you will be surprised at how much and how quickly the nose has to come down to recover.
Finally know that this is in a controlled environment where you know the failure is coming and are primed for it. Human factors studies have shown that there can be up to a 3 second delay before a pilot responds to an engine failure because of the shock factor. So finish your practice session with an engine cut in a Vx climb but this time count to 3 before lowering the nose.