Chris - you said you prefer S turns to a slip ... my personal
preference would be to slip rather than turn , thereby continuing to
track my intended approach path. I have never felt that the aircraft to
be less in control in a slip...in fact , the descent is rather more
stabile.
Otoh , if I'm really high , I would first do S-turns to lose some
altitude , then come in somewhat high , and lose the rest using a slip.

Does anyone else feel the same ?
Any DEs out there - what would you say to a student who does this on a
PPL checkride ?

regards
Pavan Bhatnagar - student pilot.


Chris Ehlbeck wrote:
Pretty close to my experience. I had my "engine failure" on what turned out
to be my last landing of the ride. I was high in the pattern and just
getting ready to turn to base when "it happened". I called a short
approach, pitched for best glide (and to slow) then told him that if I
wasn't in the pattern I'd have a landing spot in mind to head for, and try
to restart if time permitted, then called mayday on 121.5. I did some
s-turns while losing altitude, touched down longer down the runway than I
hoped but got it down. He had me stop when we taxied clear of the active
and had some questions. Why didn't you use a checklist and try to restart?
My answer was because I was in the pattern at the airport where I knew I
could make a landing (and did). My first responsibility was to fly the
airplane and get myself and passenger back on the ground, safely. He
nodded. Then he asked "Why S-turns instead of a slip?" I answered that I
was in coordinated flight with the turns in and airplane with a failed
engine and was more in control than in a slip. I then got a big grin,
handshake and "Congratulations on becoming a private pilot."

All the examiners are different but are looking for a safe pilot. If using
a checklist would compromise safety, you should be able to get away with not
using it.
--
Chris Ehlbeck, PP-ASEL
"It's a license to learn, have fun and buy really expensive hamburgers."