Oleg, SOW engine abuse by pilot?

[Azimech]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger

I'm sorry mate but "we" who? You really switch off your propeller plane by cutting the mixture? That is one helluva dangerous game man.. If I did something like this with my instructor would have kicked my ar$e, you switch off the engine by bringing the engine to idle and cutting both magnetos off, that is like the first thing they teach you..

Watch this excellent training video for the P47 from 21:55:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y3v1-WMJS8

And that's not the first time I've seen or read that kind of shutdown procedure.

Maybe your plane has a different engine? What is meant for a Lycoming or Continental might not apply to a Wright or Pratt.

I think you are a bit confused about the use of batteries and generators on aeroplanes. Just like in a car, a battery is used for startup and operating electric/electronic parts, but the alternator (or generator) does the rest (from the P-51 Mustang manual):

The electrical system runs off the battery until the engine reaches 1500-1700 RPM, when the generator is cut in by the voltage regulator. Power for the electrical system then is supplied by the generator.

Where did I state it otherwise? The subject was a dead generator during flight.

besides, if memory serves, back in WW2 they already made use of dry batteries, so there was no "icing" problems. If the generator fails the engine simply quits, the battery doesn't replace its work.

EVERY kind of battery, dry or fluid, loses capacity when the temperature drops.
And fluid batteries only freeze when they're flat. If charged, the freezing point is well below 0 C.

Anyway, would be strange don't you think? Starting the engine from battery, thus operating all systems, until the generator kicks in. Why do you assume that everything will stop if the generator dies? I wouldn't fly a plane that's so poorly engineered!

And the engine doesn't quit, because magneto's use their own power.
From the wiki: "Because it requires no battery or other source of energy, the magneto is a compact and reliable self-contained ignition system, which is why it remains in use in many general aviation applications."