Aircraft Tailplane Stalls

We dont usually take requests, but a reader wrote recently to ask us about tailplane stalls, those involving the horizontal portion of an airplanes tail. Its been a while since we covered them in-depth, so nows a good time to revisit that topic. Our reader wrote: The middle of summer when it is 90 degrees outside is not when most pilots think about tailplane icing but I would like to see an article about the aerodynamics of recovery from a tailplane stall and I know you need lead time to do that.

A Bartlett

Monday, July 18, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Tailplane stalls, particularly Ice-Contaminated Tailplane Stalls (ICTS), occur when the horizontal tail's "inverted" airfoil exceeds its critical angle of attack, losing its ability to provide the necessary downward force to counteract the aircraft's nose-down tendency.
Contrary to recovering from a wing stall, the correct procedure for an ICTS involves pulling back on the pitch control; this action decreases the tailplane's angle of attack, allowing it to regain lift, often combined with retracting flaps and reducing power.
Recognizing an ICTS, which can occur in any season, typically involves a lightening of pitch controls with a nose-down tendency, buffeting felt through the pitch control, or the control aggressively deflecting forward.

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We don’t usually take requests, but a reader wrote recently to ask us about tailplane stalls, those involving the horizontal portion of an airplane’s tail. It’s been a while since we covered them in-depth, so now’s a good time to revisit that topic. Our reader wrote: “The middle of summer when it is 90 degrees outside is not when most pilots think about tailplane icing but I would like to see an article about the aerodynamics of recovery from a tailplane stall and I know you need lead time to do that.

“The FAA guidance, as I understand it, is to pull back on the stick/yoke to recover from a tailplane stall. That seems wrong to me, but I have not been able to find an instructor who can explain the aerodynamics of how that recovery works…. I am sure the FAA is correct since they have people a lot smarter than me in aerodynamics. I am obviously missing something so could you please find someone who understands the aerodynamics of tailplane stall recovery and have them write an article on the subject in time for winter?”