how would you handle this situation

[CUEBOAT]

Training flight in a duchess(light twin) with a student onboard, simulated engine failure with a full shut down. The prop is feathered. Attemt to air re-start with accumulator doesn't work. Attemt to restart using the starter doesn't work. So it has to be landed with it fully feathered.

would you declare an emergency and land or would you just land with no emergency?

 

[mainah]

Declare an emergency just in case something should happen. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Pipeliner606]

I remember when I first started training back in '89 at Spartan in Tulsa, one of our Duchess' had the same problem. I have seen that plane land more times on one engine than two. I think every A & P at Riverside Airport worked on it, and it still had problems. Just like you said, it wouldnt unfeather, and wouldnt start by cranking. Never heard of any of the guys declaring an emergency though, but it might be a good idea. Better safe than sorry!

 

[JimNtexas]

If you are going into a controlled field you can try to dance around your situation by saying something manly like "we need to be number one to land" or "we have a little problem". ATC may or may not win this guessing game, but at least you won't lose style points for using the dreaded 'E' word.

If ATC does suspect you have an emergency and asks you about it, don't give a simple straightforward answer. That's unmanly. Instead give them a Zen Koan like "call it what you will". That'll show them who has the macho.

Of course, since it is unmanly to declare an emergency and thereby put ATC on your team, you get to test them when they expect you taxi back after landing and you can't do it on one engine.

And since you are a macho man who dances around the 'E' word, you'll be all ready for a single engine go around when ATC decides to break you out of the pattern for sequencing. Better you spend extra time driving around a crippled airplane than appear unmanly by using the 'E' word.

It's even better if you enter the pattern at an uncontrolled field. At a controlled field you only have to deal with the tower local controller. But at an uncontrolled field you have a whole pattern full of airplanes coming and going. It would be extremely unmanly to tell these other pilots (some who don't have english as a first language) that they need to give you traffic priority.

So just drop a few coy hints and drop right onto final.

Losing an engine in a Dutchess is usually no big deal. You can probably fly right back and land with no problem. There is no need to use any sort of that sissy CRM stuff with other pilots or the ATC system. Keep them in the dark and feed them BS.

No, a real pilot never uses the 'E' word, he dies like a (stupid) man.

 

[stillaboo]

Training flight in a duchess(light twin) with a student onboard, simulated engine failure with a full shut down. The prop is feathered. Attemt to air re-start with accumulator doesn't work. Attemt to restart using the starter doesn't work. So it has to be landed with it fully feathered.

Who cares if it's a training flight, if a student is onboard, if the engine was shut down on-purpose, etc. Light twins barely fly with one engine inop, even when it's feathered. Who's to say the other one won't die too? Would you declare an emergency then, or wait to see if it feathered too?

When you lose an engine, that is an emergency. Done.

'Safety, Regs, Common Sense', in that order. Declaring an emergency is the safest thing to do. The regs direct you too. Commons sense should dictate you declare too. Why would you not?

 

[Pipeliner606]

There is no shame in declaring an emergency if you need to. Anyone who tells you different has no business behind the controls of anything that flies. A guy from Texas killed his whole family in a Seneca V not too far from me last Thanksgiving, at McAlester, OK. They were enroute to Missouri when he started getting low oil pressure readings on one engine. The story I got says he called his A & P, explained the situation to him, and the A & P tells him as long as he is not getting a rise in engine temp and the engine is still running, just find the nearest airport and land to have it checked. Instead, mister super pilot tells the A & P that those engines are too expensive to risk, and he shuts it down anyway (stupid mistake #1). They are not far from McAlester, so he calls his position and states he is inbound. No mention of being single engine, no declaration of emergency. On short final, he decides he is too high, too fast, something, and decides to GO AROUND, with four people and full baggage (stupid mistake #2). Still no mention of an engine out, decaration of emergency, nothing. He stalls the plane, and spins in, killing his whole family. ANyone still believe it is sissy to declare an emergency?

 

[Riddle momma]

If not for the sake of being safe, do it as a good example for your student. Don't teach them to be "manly". Teach them to be smart girls and they can later develop into dumb men...

Oh... I know its comming!!! But I couldn't keep my mouth shut!

 

[mainah]

If not for the sake of being safe, do it as a good example for your student. Don't teach them to be "manly". Teach them to be smart girls and they can later develop into dumb men...

Oh... I know its comming!!! But I couldn't keep my mouth shut!

D'OH!!! You found me!

 

[regionalcap]

Be smart. Go ahead and declare the emergency. I had to shut one down recently because of low oil pressure and yes i declared an emergency.

 

[xjcaptain]

Used to teach in the Duchess years ago, and had a similiar recurring problem. However, we could usually get it out of feather if we increased the airspeed enough while cranking with the starter. If at a suitable altitude, (which you should be if you have it entirely shut down) push the nose over and get up to about 140, then crank with the starter and it should come out of FX and windmill fast enough where starting shouldn't be a problem.