Multi Observation Flight

Thursday September 22, 2011 I observed Mike Digrazia in N978WC. The flight was really interesting. We went over engine out procedures in the air, on takeoff, and in the traffic pattern. It was really helpful to see and feel what it is like to actually lose an engine. To add to that it was very apparent that you need to know your flows and checklist procedures because when flying a twin engine there is so much that needs to be done in such a small amount of time that it is critical that you be on top of your game at all times.

In comparison from the simulator to the airplane, yes the simulator helps you figure what to do in the event of the emergency but the feel of losing an engine in any phase of flight is not the same as it is in the actual plane. There is no way that you can get the urgency that is felt in the airplane from flying in the simulator. This is the main point that I took away from the observation flight. 

It was cool to see, during the cruise engine failure, the prop being fully feathered and then watching it getting restarted in flight. Along with seeing how the aircraft reacted in the traffic pattern with the zero thrust configured and how on days like today in order to make the runway you actually have to bring the gear up to fly the pattern and the lower the gear on the base leg when you know the field will be made. For me that seems like a sketchy plan of action but if the gear does not come up then you will not be able to maintain altitude which will result in more troubles.

Overall the flight was very informative on how easy it is to get behind the airplane and in retrospect how hard it is to get caught up. The flight got me pretty stoked to fly the twin.