It's All About Single-Engine Flying

For a pilot intent on continually advancing skills, ratings, and certificates, the natural progression is to earn the private pilot certificate, followed by an instrument rating, and then the multiengine rating. Stepping up to a multiengine airplane typically means stepping up to greater climb, cruise, and payload performance than most singles, and to the perceived safety of two engines and two systems.

Multiengine training also provides new perspectives on planning and decision-making. But two engines can be a double-edged sword. If a pilot of a multiengine airplane is not trained and proficient in handling an engine failure, it can be even more dangerous than a failed engine in a single. That's why most of the training for a multiengine rating concentrates on single-engine emergencies. 

 Multiengine training includes a number of drills, and each is designed to teach a valuable aspect of performance. Many are designed to explore single-engine flight characteristics. Feathering a propeller-turning the blades parallel to the flight path to reduce drag-is an example. Conducted at a high altitude for safety, this drill not only teaches the steps for feathering a propeller, it lets you measure the airplane's actual climb performance at a known density altitude and weigh 

Our choice of the Beechcraft Travel Air occupies a sweet spot between more powerful twins like the Cessna 310 and models like the Piper Apache, which can struggle to stay aloft on a single engine.  The panel includes an Aspen Evolution EFD 1000 PFD, Garmin G5 HSI, Apollo SL 15 audio panel and SL 30 digital Comm radio, Garmin GMX 200 MFD, Garmin GNS 430 WAAS GPS/Nav/Comm, Garmin Gi 208 glide slope/VOR/localizer indicator, King KR 87 ADF, Garmin GTX 330 transponder with traffic, Stormscope, angle of attack indicator, S-Tec 60-2 autopilot, EDM 700 engine monitor, and Collins microline digital DME.