Today’s lesson was a progress check, kind of simulatons of the coming MEP class rating examination flight. The first part was a review of the normal procedures: pre-flight, start-up, taxi and take-off were all normal. We left the pattern to the east for some steep-turns and stalls. My steep-turns were a bit hesitant, this never was my favorite exercise. Strangely, I achieved to keep almost relaxed during the stalls and they were much better than usual… almost enjoyable.

The first engine failure occured while coming back to the airport. Identify – Verify – Feather: the drill is now working well. My rudder work in asymmetrical conditions was also much better. Not perfect yet but better. The DA42 is flying quite well with half a ball and five degrees of bank towards the working engine… as told in the books. I’m doing quite good now at stable power, and there is some margin for improvement in power changes. I found a good trick to improve my single engine go-arounds: I add the working engine to my final check:

• Landing light on
• Gear down – 3 greens
• Flaps as required
• Left / Right / Both engines working

Going around on one engine requires massive rudder. When power is back to idle on final, the asymmetry disappears and applying power on one engine only suddenly brings it back. Simultaneous rudder makes the initial climb more efficient and pleasant to fly than yawing away and then back to the live engine. Recalling which engine is working on final helps to apply rudder on the correct side when going around.

My instructor also gave me several partial engine failures. The remaining power on the affected engine is checked during the “verify” phase of the engine failure drill. The options are to continue with full power on one engine and reduced power on the other one, balance power by reducing power on the live engine, or feather the affected engine. The decision depends of the phase of flight and observed performance. A wrong indication is possible and in some cases a partially windmilling propeller can be worse than a stopped one.

I flew a total of 10 VFR approaches: 5 go around, 3 touch-and-go and 2 full stops. I tend to make too shallow turns when flying on one engine and to overshoot the runway axis. I forced myself to be a bit more agressive and the results were better. After 95 minutes of flying, my MEP training was over. My instructor signed me off and filled all the papers. I’m now officially ready for the MEP skill test. I don’t know yet if I will take it now or if I will before train for the MEP / IR. Gaining more experience on the plane before the check sounds like a good idea. Stay tuned for more news…