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AviationEngine failure during takeoff before VMC (simulated)
In a twin, on the takeoff roll and before the minimum control speed, the examiner simulates an engine failure: you close both throttles at once and keep the airplane straight with the brakes or the flight controls. It is Task E of Area IX, Emergency Operations, in the FAA Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards, for the airplane classes listed below.
Free to startScenarios
- Airplane multiengine land (AMEL).
- Airplane multiengine sea (AMES).
The steps
- Close the throttles smoothly and promptly when the simulated engine failure comes.
- Keep directional control and use the brakes on land, or the flight controls on water, as needed.
Safety rules that stop the station
- The simulated engine failure comes before 50 percent of the calculated VMC.
- Any action, or lack of action, that makes the examiner step in to keep the flight safe is unsatisfactory.
- If you do not use sound aeronautical decision-making, including single-pilot resource management, the examiner marks the task as failed.
To pass
- Both throttles closed at once and the airplane kept straight to a stop.
- Know what changes the minimum control speed with an engine inoperative (VMC), VMC (red line) and the best single-engine rate of climb speed VYSE (blue line), the accelerate-stop distance, and the risks of an engine failure on takeoff, configuring the airplane and distractions.
- Missing the standard on this task fails the task and its area of operation.
Official source
Federal · FAA Private Pilot ACS
Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C)
The FAA publishes the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards free: every task of the checkride with its knowledge, risks and tolerances.
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