Engine-Out Energy Management

Moreover, the FAAs Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for private and commercial certificates specify that pilots are to have knowledge of EM concepts for many maneuvers. They include emergency approach and landing, soft-field/rough-field landing, normal approach and landing, short-field landing, various types of water landings, power-off 180-degree accuracy approach and landing and go-around/rejected landing. The word knowledge implies pilots should have, at least, a basic understanding of EM concepts and be able to apply these concepts to tasks in the FAAs ACS.

Michael J. Banner

Saturday, August 31, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Energy Management (EM), encompassing an aircraft's total energy (altitude as potential energy and airspeed as kinetic energy), is crucial for flight safety, preventing loss of control, and is a required pilot competency by the FAA.
In an engine-out scenario in a single-engine aircraft, pilots must efficiently manage available energy by flying at the best glide speed (VG) to minimize drag, maximize glide time, and convert altitude into airspeed.
Successful dead-stick landings require precise energy management throughout the descent and approach, using controlled drag (e.g., flaps, slips) to arrive at the chosen landing site and touching down into the wind at the lowest controllable speed.
Pilots are encouraged to practice energy management techniques, specifically power-off 180-degree accuracy approaches and landings, to gain proficiency for emergency situations.

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Altitude and airspeed, represented as potential energy (EPOT) and kinetic energy (EKIN), respectively, can be thought of as constituting an aircraft’s total energy. Why do we care? Appropriate energy management (EM), maintaining a safe total energy state for all phases of flight, can help avert in-flight loss of control (LOC-I), the unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight and the leading fatal-accident cause.

Moreover, the FAA’s Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for private and commercial certificates specify that pilots are to have knowledge of EM concepts for many maneuvers. They include emergency approach and landing, soft-field/rough-field landing, normal approach and landing, short-field landing, various types of water landings, power-off 180-degree accuracy approach and landing and go-around/rejected landing. The word “knowledge” implies pilots should have, at least, a basic understanding of EM concepts and be able to apply these concepts to tasks in the FAA’s ACS.