Multi-engine

July 3, 2013

I was recently added to the list of co-pilots allowed to ride along on charter flights. The company I take lessons from, and work for, also does charter flights to airports all across the country. Because I'm an employee, I can sit right seat. The great thing about it is that if I go with a multi-engine instructor, and the trip home isn't carrying any parts or passengers, I can log that time as dual instruction and learn how to fly a multi-engine as I ride along! Needless to say, I'm stoked!

Most of these charters occur overnight; I know I will be tired, and it'll be dark. So I thought the smart thing to do to be best prepared would be to take one lesson, a crash course, in a multi-engine during the daytime.

I meet with Nick, my instructor for the day. We spend 15 minutes on the ground discussing the day's plan before going out to the plane. Here he teaches me how to run though the pre-flight inspection to make sure the plane is airworthy. We hop in the plane and prepare for takeoff. Nick walks me through the procedure of  what to do in case of an engine failure on takeoff. There's three scenarios, all of which must be announced out-loud by the pilot before entering the runway. 

1. Before Takeoff - Abort (throttles idle)
2. After liftoff and gear down with runway remaining - Abort and land straight ahead.
3. After takeoff and a climb is in process, if you lose an engine - 
• Power Up - Mixture full rich, prop control full forward, full throttle.
• Clean Up - Flaps up, Gear up, Auxiliary fuel pumps on.
• Identify - Determine which engine is dead: Whichever foot requires rudder to remain straight is the side with the good engine. The opposite can be remembered by "Dead foot, Dead engine."
• Verify - Cautiously retard (bring back) the throttle.
• Rectify - Use checklist for possible restart if conditions permit.
• Secure - Feather the prop (On a multi-engine aircraft, feathering the propeller on a failed engine allows the aircraft to maintain altitude with the reduced power from the remaining engines.), mixture idle cut-off, see checklist. 

We now enter the runway and I apply half power with brakes held and check the instruments for proper readings. Everything looks acceptable so I release the brakes and add all remaining power. We liftoff at 71kts, and climb out at 85kts. Gear goes up and before you know it, we're already at pattern altitude (1200ft MSL). We continue climbing to 2500ft until we are clear of class B airspace, then we continue to climb to 4500ft. By the time we reached 4500ft, we were clear of the next ring of class B airspace, and we could climb to 6000ft.

We perform a couple clearing turns, then Nick takes the controls and shows me the drag demo. He pulls one engine to idle and the other engine to full throttle to simulate an engine failure. Then one at a time he lowers the flaps and landing gear. He shows me the effect each one has on the performance of the airplane and how to maintain control of the airplane. Very interesting! He then continues on to show me the Vmc demo. Vmc is the minimum flight speed at which the airplane is directionally controllable. This procedure is very similar to stalls. He slows the airplane down to the Vmc speed (about 65kts) and at the first sign (stall warning horn, buffeting, or directional loss), he lowers the nose to gain speed and pulls the good engine's throttle to idle. This allows the plane to safely speed up until you can gain control again (about 85kts - at the blue line). You then add full power to the good engine and climb out. 

Now it's my turn! He walks me through the steps and I experience first hand the effects of an engine failure. Much different than a single engine engine-failure!

We're now at 6000ft and he says we need to make an emergency descent. This is practice for an engine fire. Making a rapid descent often blows out the fire. We push the nose over and speed up to 140kts. We bank the airplane at 30 degrees and continue to rapidly descend down to 2500ft. My ears are continuously popping and the visuals are crazy. I feel like we're looking straight down at the ground. Before I could blink, we were already down to 2500ft. We recover and begin our flight home. 

He sets up the VOR and has me fly the VOR 18 approach into the airport... just for practice. The winds are light and are setting us up for a perfect landing. Once over the river, we begin our straight in approach for runway 18. Gear down, flaps down, drop speed from 120kts to 85kts for short final. The sight picture in this plane is much different; you can't see the nose of the airplane. My instructor keeps his hands on the controls and walks me through my first landing. Keeping the plane off the runway, then gently flare, and touchdown. I was pleasantly surprised!

We then taxi back and do one more takeoff. He quizzes me on the process of an engine failure during takeoff. Once complete, I taxi out, takeoff, and climb to pattern altitude. I was warned that everything will happen faster than what I'm used to. Shortly thereafter, I'm turning onto the downwind leg, lowering the gear and preparing for landing. Now onto final, I be sure to keep my airspeed at 85kts (the blue line). We're lined up perfectly, and he's going to let me do most the work for this landing. I slowly bring the power back, hold the plane off the ground, then gently flare. The touchdown was perfect. 

I taxi us back to the hanger and shut down. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself and quite happy. Prior to the flight, I was slightly worried that I would get overwhelmed with two engines. It turns out that I felt comfortable in that plane. Having a great instructor certainly helps, and having previous experience in a complex plane helps. I can say with certainty that I'm looking forward to getting a multi-engine rating sometime in the future!

Until then I will enjoy any charter flight I can participate in. I should also be finishing my commercial training in July. That will be a great day!