Powered Gliders

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Nor was there a dangerous moment over the Littleton Airport when I would occasionally pull the nose up on the Citabria or the Super Cub (or whatever) and stall the airplane after pulling the throttle back to idle and turning off the magnetos. The prop would come to a halt in the slow air, and I would relax back pressure on the stick and hand the airplane over to the student for a few minutes. He or she would then have the pleasure of flying a temporary glider. sHe would understand that an airplane was really a glider with the gift of power. I would let the student fly around powerless for a while, then I would take over in order to restart the engine. Instead of using the electric starter I would advise the student that I was going to start the engine by 'windmilling it' at high speed; then I would turn on the magnetos and do a 'split-S,' diving the airplane vertically to the point that the airspeed began to turn the prop thus starting the engine. That speed was typically around the cruising speed for that airplane.

This was always a memorable moment, as we pulled out of the dive somewhere near pattern altitude and I pulled power and told the student to make a power-off approach to the Littleton Airport, as if the engine had really failed. Meanwhile, of course, I nursed the engine to make sure it was hot enough to provide real power... I had been surprised more than once by a cold, sputtering engine at low altitude!

I don't remember even a single case where the student blew the power-off landing.