What Should a Pilot Do if a Single Engine Quits in Cruise?

Most piston singles, like this Tecnam, can glide eight times their height above the terrain. [Courtesy: Tecnam Aircraft/Krzysztof Niewiadomski]

Question: If the engine in a single quits in cruise, what should I do with the throttle, propeller, and other controls to get the best glide?

Answer: Most singles can glide eight times their height above the terrain. If you’re at 7,500 feet and the local elevation is 700 feet, you’re about one and a quarter miles above the ground, so don’t pick a place to land outside a 10-mile radius. Don’t count on achieving the longest possible lide—better a nearby cornfield than a distant runway.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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Slow to your best rate-of-climb speed. If the prop doesn’t stop of its own accord, let it windmill. To reduce drag from the windmilling propeller, open the throttle fully and set a constant-speed prop to the lowest possible rpm (vernier all the way out).

READ MORE: Can the Owner of a Certified Airplane Do Their Own Maintenance?

If you’re landing in the rough, turn off fuel to the engine. Slide your seat as far back as you can while still holding the yoke, and make your lap and shoulder belts as tight as possible. Keep the flaps and gear retracted until you’re in position to land, then use full flaps.

Otherwise, touch down on the numbers.

This column first appeared in the November 2023/Issue 944 of FLYING’s print edition.

Aircraft From The Magazine From the pages of flying Pilot Proficiency Pilots rate of climb speed Single Engine single engine best glide windmilling propeller

Peter GarrisonAuthor

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, "Technicalities" and "Aftermath," with FLYING readers.