Un-necessary steep climbouts
While having lunch at an airport restaurant with pilot friends yesterday, we watched the planes come and go. A Zenith 601 took off, and with lots of room at this mid sized airport, pulled sharply skyward for reasons not associated with any need to clear an obstacle. As he stagger up through about a hundred feet, the engine missed. He sharply lowered the nose, it returned to life, and he continued away from a settling departure.
What a needless risk he took, and it nearly ended his day. It is very likely that from his place in the sky, a glide landing would not have been possible. Though this aircraft type would have less than the normal pilot information, it will adhere to the laws of physics as any other aircraft - and more so, with a more thick airfoil wing, and not so much inertia.
In general, a airplane climbed at a slower than best rate plus airspeed probably cannot be glided to a safe landing from less than a few hundred feet up. When your climb speed is slower than your required glide speed, it's going to take quite a lot of that precious altitude to stuff the nose down and accelerate to glide speed, just to get into the glide, before you have the speed you'll need to flare and arrest the descent - you may have reached the ground already.
Most planes really cannot safely depart at these extreme angles safely, so why do it if there is no obstacle to clear? Yesterday's pilot got a clear warning, I hope he learned.....