I continue to be surprised about pilots having accidents while doing maneuvers close to the ground. This list includes airmen from a wide variety of backgrounds, including airshow performers, flight instructors, military pilots and general aviation pilots. It seems to me that some of us have forgotten or misplaced the early-learned information concerning the relationship between Gs and wing stall speed. Even though there are many factors contributing to stalling a wing, in this article I will use “wing stall” as an indication of the reduction of lift and corresponding increase in drag when the critical angle of attack of the wing is exceeded. As that 288
Fly The Wing
I continue to be surprised about pilots having accidents while doing maneuvers close to the ground. This list includes airmen from a wide variety of backgrounds, including airshow performers, flight instructors, military pilots and general aviation pilots. It seems to me that some of us have forgotten or misplaced the early-learned information concerning the relationship between Gs and wing stall speed.
Key Takeaways:
- Many pilots, regardless of experience, overlook the critical relationship between G-loading and wing stall speed, which significantly increases stall speed under G-forces (Stall Speed at X G = 1G Stall Speed * sqrt(X G)).
- This forgotten principle often leads to accelerated stalls and unrecoverable accidents during various close-to-ground maneuvers, such as steep turns, base-to-final overshoots, aggressive flares, and airshow performances.
- A thorough understanding of the V-G relationship is crucial for preventing high-speed stalls and can even be utilized to advantage in upset recovery by "unloading" (reducing G-loading) to safely decrease stall speed.
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