“I want you to get light on the seat”
So many wise words to the last second.
Thank you for posting this!
Every pilot should watch it!
I thought that is an excellent video. Whilst instructing, I (far too regularly) see Pilots either pull back – or delay pushing the nose down after an engine failure. I also like the concept of the Defined Minimum Manoeuvring speed. I will discuss this with my CFI to see if he would like to adopt it in our club.
Yes. Wise words for sure. I used this extensively for float flying; although I chose a slightly higher minimum maneuvering speed. I used a 1.3 times stall speed times 1.2 for a 45 degree bank. So 1.56 overall, and then rounded up.
Imagine taking off the water in the mountains. You are always headed for trees or rocks. It is hugely beneficial to understand your margins before you need them. That way when you are making turns you already know that you are safe and can be comfortable making less 45 degree banks when above xx knots. A few circles above the lake and then you are on your way.
In relation to the engine out, the drag from floats is huge. You have got to get the nose down quick!! I must have practiced this several hundred times (it is easier when you can land once every minute or two up a big lake).
I applied the same concepts to my pa-28, but didn’t really find myself flying slow or doing steep turns, so it did not come into play as often.
This was not covered at all in my PPL, but came up in my subsequent tail wheel and float instruction. My very good float instructor was also an aerobatic pilot/instructor and I guess he didn’t want us corkscrewing in whilst doing a 180 at low level over a river… very sound advice.
As an aside, my PPL instructor died from a canyon turn incident in the mountains shortly after I got my license. A second float instructor I used for an insurance checkout also died from loss of control shortly after my time with them. Serious stuff.
petakas wrote:
“I want you to get light on the seat”
Oh boy, you will find many who think that “light” = “stall” 
We are only human.
We all ( I ) probably think we’re, (I’m) good enough. But am I?
It’s really important to be reminded that we may not be good enough on the day.
Watching quality stuff like this is invaluable in reminding me to keep evaluating my skills.
I will admit to not recently briefing EFATO to myself. I’m going to try to fix that.
Perhaps I need to add ‘brief EFATO’ to my check list.
Thanks for posting this video.
We train touch and go with cut(s). Shortly after takeoff, 50 feet +-, the throttle is cut and a landing is done a second time. With some practice you can do a whole bunch. I think the record is 6 cuts at my airfield, in a C-172 With a Cub or microlight you can do more than that, but it’s way beside the point to set records Two is easy with normal climb out procedures, touch and go with cut cut. Nose down, speed, full flaps, land. Doing tail wheel rating, touch and go with cut/cut-cut is what you do for 5 hours in a row, but then you also make full stops (sometimes called stop and go with cut-cut if the person in the tower is picky)
A few weeks ago I had one who had never flown on a controlled airfield, and never done a touch and go with cut. He was young and clever, a university student, so no problems with any of it.
Worth watching as the FI has a distinct teaching style, and the SE EFATO is still a problem area. Going ‘light in the seat’ unloads the wing, however it might set you up for a secondary stall when you are back at 1 G, as the stall speed is a function of G. But the minimum manoeuvring speed concept should avoid the risk of a secondary stall.
UK/EASA there is an EFATO on SE check rides, so hopefully not a training gap. Ditto an EFATO brief would be part of the departure brief.
Yes Robert, I agree. I did take from it a slightly different view, that going light in the seat was a result of achieving the appropriate nose-down attitude soley tied to aggressively trying to achieve flying speed. Rather than just doing only the 1st part and not actually achieving the speed, where a secondary stall would ensue.
I’d like to clarify for me personally, that when I have infrequent pax, or new pax, I always did/do a EFATO brief, but my emphasis was more for them than me.
I always believed I would be sure to react promptly and appropriately.
I usually fly with the missus, and don’t do a brief.
I now however, see the potential benefit for briefing ME, just to give me a tiny little focus point, before getting re-immersed regular in piloting tasks.
Great video, and great to see a CFI doing some “research” to improve safety, not just teaching stuff from the book. This concept of a minimum speed is great, like the “stable approach” criteria.
The idea of getting the ATCO pissed off on purpose is just unthinkable here
It seems EFATO is one of the only thing we do better than the US. It is practiced in France for any checkride or flight review.
I got it engraved in my “flying instinct” from maybe my 3rd flying lesson.
