flown at the right speeds and with the ball centered (or 5 degrees into the dead), I would argue it doesn’t matter which way you turn or which engine is out.
I’ve never flown a twin, but my impression is that you should fly as fast as possible so that you’re well above Vmca and have more control authority. Once you’ve made the runway, wouldn’t it make sense to idle the live motor, so that you have minimal asymmetric thrust and a better descent rate?
Obviously as a matter of proficiency you should be able to fly a full circuit on the edge of Vmca, but in the actual event it seems like giving yourself as much extra margin as possible is better, even if not strictly necessary according to the book.
This thread on twins may be worth a quick read. It seems these procedures are aircraft type dependent to a large degree.
Quote (or 5 degrees into the dead)
“Into” might be confusing but as is recall (And quick mental diagram of forces) it’s into the operating engine (the operating engine is lower, and the ball is on that side)
Yes, they never teach you that in training much, but reducing good engine is a surefire way to get out of any Vmca troubles. And it’s a valid technique. Rather crash wings level than spin it in… As you trim up for straight flight in an engine out scenario to return for landing, it always came as a surprise just how much she wanted to go the other way when you rolled off the power. It was easy to forget.
Obviously as a matter of proficiency you should be able to fly a full circuit on the edge of Vmca
Please don’t. Hundreds, not an exaggeration, of students/instructors were lost, some still are, to MEP training by playing around at Vmca. The regulators introduced Vsse (safe single engine) which provides a safety margin, although as the video Adam posted, this is only applicable in certain circumstances, and which made MEP training safer. Circuits asymmetric are typically conducted above blue line (Vyse), and Vref + 5KTAS on established final, to have some energy in the event of an asymmetric go around.
