Single vs Twin Engine? InTheHangar Ep 53

Robert Johnson is a very successful Entrepenuer and has owned single piston airplanes, twins (Cessna 421 and now a King Air 90).

[Agislife]

Spent 13 years working for a 135 operation in Alaska, I personally saw 7 Piper Navajo chieftains loose engines and all but one aircraft made a safe landing on one engine. Here's the deal guys, we're real good at tracking fatalities due to a twin that looses an engine and causes an accident, but what about the twins that loose engines and everybody just walks away, where's that number at and isn't that the other number you really need to quantify the ultimate safety of a multiengine aircraft type. All aircraft power plants are designed built and maintained by men, it's impossible for any of them to be 100 percent reliable. If you guys read thru all 350+ accidents with the Cessna Caravan since 1984, you'll find no fewer than 61 engine failures and thats not exactly a negligible percentage.

[brettwest]

This is one of YouTube’s best aviation channels, why only 8k subscribers??

[FL-FLyer]

Many pilots I have spoken to over the years claim that a single engine turbine is more reliable then a multi engine piston, and thus a better choice for long water crossings. I could never see how this can be true because with a multi like the DA42 you can STILL FLY on one engine (I am not talking about older twins that won't maintain altitude in an OEI situation). Yes, a turbine is very reliable indeed, but if your engine quits over water, you simply don't have any option but to ditch and pray you survive. I am having a very hard time believing that an event where two completely independent piston engines quit at the same time is more likely then a single turbine failure. Can anyone clear this up?

[frankpoynter]

As a 20, 00 plus hrs. pilot I totaly agree.Its all about the training!

[H-Zazoo]

So now we just need to decide should we fly a blue polo shirt with a logo or without?

[justusetpecator]

Good discussion, I so agree safety is about good quality training, on going and regular. A side note that most single engine pilots do not know is when a multi loses an engine that is 50% of its power and in reality it is a loss of 80% of its performance. That is why a single engine go around is to be avoided if possible especially with recips a turbine has a little better safety margin than a recip but it is not desirable, even though it is part of our training and checkride. Good job guys, I'm subscribing, keep up the good work.

[stuartessex]

Good point, Invest in pilot training. Its all about whos flying in an emergency, not how many engines. Great channel

[traderduke]

Great discussion. Love the conclusion. I’m a new pilot. And these are awesome suggestions. “Invest in training”

[davewalker]

I flew 12 single-engine beavers across the North Atlantic to Oslo, Norway in the mid 1970s. One-by one I gradually became increasingly nervous about an engine failure. I don't know if I have OCD or not, but now I will not fly in a single-engine aircraft.

[billcraig]

I had a partial power outage in a Cessna-182 years ago. Went from smooth running engine at 8, 000 feet over the Florida panhandle to racket and vibration. I told Jax Center I had an engine problem and needed to land. I was over a 6000 broken layer and could see both I-10 and some new roads being graded for a subdivision. Jax gave me a vector to an airport 6 miles behind me and I got down through the broken lay and over the field at 2500'. I didn't fly my downwind wide enough and did s-turns and slips on final to get on the runway past mid-field. My commercial check-ride examiner had told me that most forced landing crack-ups are from overshooting, and I demonstrated that to myself by flying the downwind too close to the runway. I need the brakes to not run off the end of the 4100' runway.

The problem turned out to be a broken rocker arm boss on the No.1 cylinder exhaust valve. I have pulled the power all the way back and treated it like a total power loss even though there must have been a good bit of power available. That exhaust valve had shut when the boss broke and the No. 1 cylinder was back-firing through the carb and it had sounded really scary with significant vibration.

[coasternut]

I had a single engine emergency and I WISHED I'd had a second engine
It's not about when everything works fine, it's about when it's not

[spark]

Great content! Many thanks to all 3 of you!

[gapilot]

Great Episode! Watching from Argentina

[rnordquest]

In either case you have to answer the same question. What do you do when an engine quits? Each has a procedure; follow it for best results.

[y_not]

So interesting, great video! Very informative and easy to understand for newcomers.

[EatMyPropwash]

…and this is why I LOVE a nice AOA gauge. 0.6aoa is a magical thing, and so is .35 in Citation jets.

[kiltedpiper]

Awesome discussion! Love the way it ended.

[MichaelLloyd]

This is a really good video- the comment about who's in the left seat at the end is my takeaway. I like the 310. I love the TBM :o) I've never flown either. If money were no object (I'd like a video on how to make THAT happen), I'd take a TBM and do intensive training in it and a sim before I flew it solo (much), and then schedule recurring training. Then I'd go buy a Baron and/or 310 and do the same. Because... money is no object in this scenario and I like to fly stuff.

Since money always factors in, a twin is probably not for me. I don't think I could stay proficient in twin or turboprop for that matter. Especially for engine out emergencies. I follow Kathryn's Report (definitely not for the entertainment value) and in a lot of cases, twin fatal accidents are due to bad handling of an asymmetric thrust emergency. Low time, poor or no training, or just complacency.


Proficiency in a C172 or C182 is easier maintain, I can go out west of KFMN and practice power off landings or any number of emergency maneuvers. The checklist is relatively short and pretty much burned into my head. Ie, they aren't complex aircraft. Cost to operate is low(er) and I can "afford" to practice just for fun.

[billcowdin]

What a great conversation and information! Thank you all for this.

[chewar]

As someone who is terrified of flying, happened cross this video. I am thinking if I were to ever get in a plane, I would definitely rather have two engines, just in case one went out. But, since I hate flying, won't have to worry about that....and interesting that this video was pre covid, better times for sure!