Not long after I got my license, I remember wanting to practice crosswind landings, but I worried about putting myself and the airplane I was renting in a situation that could become less than ideal. Most of the time I didn't do it because I didn’t want to risk an accident in attempting to avoid one. It seemed like quite the Catch 22.
I would have loved to have been able to practice more challenging maneuvers from the safety of a climate-controlled flight simulator. Here at my convenient and comfortable shop, I can push myself to the brink of my abilities with no risk, and I can do it on a still, sunny day or on a day when the weather is so bad the airlines aren’t even flying.
I believe you can never over-prepare yourself for an engine-out scenario. Obviously this is an extremely rare situation the vast majority of us will never have to experience, but knowing exactly what to do if it happens can make a huge difference. Of course, during your training for your certificate, your instructor simulated an engine-out scenario so you could perform the necessary steps quickly and efficiently to have a safe emergency landing. At that point, the instructor brought the engine back to life and you climbed back up to a normal altitude.
In our simulators, you can practice that scenario you faced many times with your instructor, except now you can actually perform that emergency landing. That last 400 to 500 feet is the most important and the most unforgiving, and you rarely get a chance to practice that part in an actual airplane. I practice an engine-out scenario at least once a week in all different types of situations. Using our simulators' incredibly accurate and clear terrain imaging software, I also practice it at a low altitude while taking off from my home airport on all runways so I know the best places to land if I lose my engine on takeoff. I'm also able to go back and "watch" my landing from all different angles to evaluate it so I can improve on it the next time. Knowing I can find a safe place to land even in an emergency situation close to my home airport gives me a huge level of confidence.