In article CJ writes:
Agreed, when I was checked out on the Cirrus SR22 I noted a glide ratio of
8-9:1. Very similar to a Cessna 210, another perfectly glidable aeroplane
with poor glide performance. Following engine failures, pilots have a
mental model of their glide range from previous types, wind up short, try
raising the nose to stretch the glide and...well you know how that ends

From previous types? The glide ratio of most common light aircraft is in
the 8:1 to 10:1 range. I doubt that their previous types much exceed the
SR22's glide ratio.

Not having any speed to fly information other than "engine out xx ktas"
might limit their getting optimal glide performance, but a real engine
failure is not the best time to be trying to calculate best glide speed
for existing weight and speed to fly for current winds to their target.

I expect that most readers of this group know how weight affects their
minimum sink airspeed and best glide airspeeds; as well as how winds and
rising or sinking air affect the best speed for them to be flying.

I hope they won't be experimenting with the effects if the engine quits
in a light airplane, in conditions where they probably do not know the air
motion particularly accurately.

( Does anyone here know the V min sink and V best glide for a Cessna 172N
at 2300 lbs weight; does anyone have a reasonably good polar plot for it?
I got curious, looked online, didn't find the info. It would not surprise
me if the 65 ktas in the POH is padded a bit to ensure that the suddenly
unpowered pilot is less likely to run out of speed on approach, but I do not
know this. )

Alan