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Scott Krueger wrote about moving the prop to coarse pitch
after an engine failure.
I could not agree more, and my figures during a test were
similar. I have a 72 inch prop on my 360, and as y'all know, I'm gonna thrash on
my little bird up at Reno. I've practiced low level engine failure in both
modes; flat out, worst case engine failure and loss of prop control (Flat
Pitch), and a failure with prop control (move to coarse pitch).
The difference is night and day. Put this on your written or
mental emergency checklist. That prop control can make the difference between a
"no sweat" emergency or a real sphincter tightening excercie.
Just for your consumption; my low level engine failure
practice is from 50 feet AGL at full power (sorta) and about 230 mph. Boom. Pull
the engine back. If I leave everything alone, I am on the ground in about 30 -
45 seconds. I just have to figure out where and in what fashion. At times, I
have to make some agressive pitch ups and a turn or two to align with my chosen
landing area.
If I get the prop back, I just bought myself another 20
seconds and, depending on where the runways are, more gentle manuvering to get
to it.
Imagine the difference from cruise altitude...
HTH.
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