Posted for "Nelson, Charles" <Charles.Nelson@therasense.com>:

 A couple of things,
 
 What is the redundancy for the engine in a single engine aircraft? Altitude,
 the more the better.  I realize it is not applicable, but I do practice
 making a field with the engine at idle.  It is a fun experiment and gives me
 experience in this situation.  This is actually how I selected my cruise
 altitude for my daily commute to work.  Since I fly daily, the odds of
 exploring redundant systems of my aircraft increase.  Over 3 years of daily
 commuting, I have used them all except a bona fide engine out situation.  No
 DG, no Turn coordinator, no com, no compass, clearance into CFIT, yep, all
 of them.
 
 My aircraft has a 10:1 glide slope, not from a book value, from actual data
 collected as the pilot.  The greatest distance over land between two
 airports along my commute corridor is 20 miles.  The mid point distance is
 10 miles or 52800 feet.  To hit the pattern at 1000 feet above the
 threshold, that means I plan for 62800 feet of glide.  So my commute home is
 at 6500 feet and my commute to work is at 5500 or 7500 feet depending upon
 the color of the oil.
 
 If you have not tried it, go out and give it a whirl.  Pull the power, trim
 for best Vx, and be patient.  The goal is to touch down without touching the
 power.  Again, try it and try it again. You will get the mental image of the
 runway coming up, you will feel the nerves abeam the threshold, you will
 question everything going on around you.  Then, should you run a tank dry,
 lose a rod, or cavitate a fuel line, ice up a carburetor, you have done it.
 You will kick into automatic mode, rely on memory, and situational
 awareness.  You will just be a lot more comfortable if it happens.