Walter D
Posts: 668
Joined: 10/18/2002
From: Sun City,
CA, USA
Status: offline
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I'm going to copy this answer which I wrote a few days ago when talking about a DC 3:
I've flown quite a few twins (never a DC 3 though), and on every one of them, I've found out that it was much easier to turn toward the dead engine, and my thinking tells me why this is:
1) When one engine quits, the airplane will automatically start a gradual turn toward the dead engine.
2) As the airplane is already on a bank, lowering the other engine to about half throttle the turn is very easy to maintain.
3) Opposite rudder input to the dead engine, should keep the airplane flying straight and level, a slight pressure on ailerons can make a difference on some models also.
4) If trying to turn toward the good engine, more rudder and aileron deflection is necessary, thus contributing to a faster loss of airspeed, which could result in a stall and spin, and the DC3 is very good at doing that.
5) By all means, once you have the airplane trimmed out and are sure of its gliding capabilities (and if you are gutsy like me), put less fuel on one engine first, go up, and see how it behaves when the engine quits, of course, be way up there; try this with both engines, learning this will eventually save your airplane some time, it has served me well.
6) When one engine quits, lower the other one to half, and do not try to gain altitude abruptly, you will be asking for disaster, specially if you have a tail wind.
7) Always start your take off run so as to have as much runway ahead of you as possible, if engine quits, immediately lower the other one and land, in many instances is a better idea not to lower the gear at such a moment.
8) Have flaps, a little tad of flap deployment can help you get a longer glide, when both engines are shut down, or one is at least at idle or slightly above. For sure no more than 10 % deployment.
9) The .46's will easily overpower this airplane, even .40's can be a little too much, the best combinations I've seen fly (I'm talking about the Royal kit) was with .35's.
KingwoodBarney's tale about having his Beech Kingair for such a long time and with so many flights must be a record, to have that many flight on a twin and on a Kingair makes it material for the Guiness Book of World Records, wow!
Warbirdz1 is very right when he says that a wide open area flying field can be extremelly helpgul when flying a twin and an engine quits at the worst time, which can be anyone that is too close to the ground!
I had many engine out situations and most were induced by me, just so I could learn how to handle things at the right moment, it is best to try this after 3 or 4 flights and you have learned how well the airplane glides with engines at idle or just above, and how it behaves with flaps, from these observations is why I say that turning toward the dead engine could be on your favor and not against you.
Here's a true story of what happened to me when flying my Royal Cessna 310, this airplane was powered by to .45 2 stroke engines, it weighed 12.5 lbs. Great flying twin, but fast and very pitch sensitive when flaps were deployed.
On a very early Sunday morning, flying out of a cow pasture which had trees just about everywhere by the side of the runway, toward the east end there was a fairly wide circle that had trees all around, this circle was more to the left of the runway, so if at that point you had not gained about 100 feet, you've had it, turning to the right was not an option as there were trees but toward the left there was some chance of survival, because of that big circle which was clear in the center, but the perimeter was surrounded by very big Ficus trees.
The 310's throttle are gradually advanced (no flaps were used), very solid take off run, at about 3/4 of the length of the runway it takes off, gear goes up, altitude about 50 feet, left engine quits abruptly, by now I'm right at the end of the runway, I still had to gain another 50 just to clear the top of the trees at the far end of the runway, as soon as the engine quit, the airplane started to drop the left wing (not violently though) as I automatically dropped the other engine to half when noticing the bank I had no better choice than to continue on that self imposed turn and kind of tightening it a little by adding some up elevetar, wings were at about a 30 deg. bank, I held it there by the use of ailerons and a tad of right rudder, I started flying around the circle at about half tree level, but only a small portion of the circle was under my view, as trees started blocking me, all I could do was pray and keep the input on the controls always keeping a slight pressure on the elevator (which by now had become like a rudder, tightening the circle. Very early in the morning that .45 sounded so lonely out there, no other sound around, but I was expecting to hear that dreaded noice of broken balsa and tree limbs, for what seemed an eternity that is all that was going on in my head, when suddenly there appears the 310 at exactly the same bank attitude and same altitud coming around the big circle, I immedietaly lowered the good engine to idle, banked hard to the right lining her up with the runway, gear down, flare and touchdown, whewww!, was that a save or what!, I was patting myself on my back, as unfortunately I was the only one at the club at the time (told you it was early), when all my buddies started arriving I told them the tale and I don't know if they all really believed me, probably the same will happen here, but it was the true, I'm telling you!
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Flying a Twin....How to handle an engine failure..... - 
