Ken:

That's a fact! I solo'ed then the following week I was flying my trainer. Well, I guess I didn't get the fuel flow set properly because shortly after take off, the engine sputtered and died. That was a WEEK after solo. I greased it in and proceeded to thank my instructor for all those dead-stick approaches we made during my training period. Works every time and I hope ALL instructors do that (give dead stick approach training).

Just in case someone out there doesn't understand this, take your student up high and tell him/her to go to idle and land the plane. Talk them through the approach so that they end up in the correct position with the correct wind orientation then watch the approach. At about 20 feet, have them add throttle and go around, then do it again but from a different location in the sky. If several are done on every training schedule, there should be no fear of dead-sticks, just a concern followed by a greaser landing. Often times, that will happen as mine did, right after take off.. in this case, I took off and was in the middle of a right turn when the engine quit. Well, I dropped the nose slightly and continued that right turn until I was lined up and set it down nice and soft. That's the stuff that instructors need to teach as well as all the other stuff.

Great point, Ken.