Page 24 - March 25

the engine. The critical action is to feather the prop,
as the windmilling prop is your adversary. You won’t
need to restart the offending engine in flight since you
won’t be able to regain control of the power lever until
the Py air leak is repaired.
In the King Air market, I have noticed a lack of
understanding regarding the impact of a power rollback
when conducting recurrent training. Furthermore, I’ve
had few discussions about a power rollback within the
King Air community during my 22 years of flying King
Airs, and those have only occurred with the best training
providers. It is as if there’s a dark gap in understanding
of the power rollback in this community.
Another system within the King Air that I find
consistently misunderstood is the autofeather system.
King Air pilots truly need to understand these two
systems to operate a King Air safely. If you have a
windmilling prop, you won’t be airborne for long.
Ensuring the prop is feathered in a loss of thrust scenario
is critical.
When I administer an airline transport pilot (ATP)
multi-engine practical test, the airman certification
standards (ACS) require the candidate to shut down the
engine and restart it in flight. I’ve completed hundreds
of in-flight engine shutdowns and restarts in every
type of King Air, and I’ve witnessed the unfortunate
consequences of a windmilling prop.
During the ATP-ME practical test, I can pull the power
lever of one engine to idle, prompting a response from
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­ KING AIR MAGAZINE MARCH 2025