Among the concerns expressed by a brand-new student pilot I was talking with recently was what I took to be a strong fear of stalls. I didn’t have the opportunity to ask him where he learned stalls should be feared. I did, however, relate they were important but—at least when understood—weren’t anything to fear. Which is not to say they shouldn’t be respected. Key to understanding stalls, of course, is knowing why and how they occur, why we practice them and how we can use the knowledge and experience gained during that practice to prevent more dramatic behavior, like deep stalls or spins, especially when close to the ground.
While often feared, stalls should be understood and respected rather than feared, as an aircraft remains controllable even when stalled if proper techniques are applied.
A stall occurs when a wing exceeds its critical angle of attack (AoA), independent of airspeed or attitude, and can be managed through pitch, roll, and yaw control, with wing design (washout) aiding roll authority.
Aircraft weight influences stall speed and recovery altitude loss, but the Center of Gravity (CG) is critical, with an aft CG significantly hindering stall recovery and increasing spin risk.
Beyond basic stalls, accelerated and cross-control stalls are common in everyday flying, are more abrupt, and significantly increase the risk of an inadvertent spin, especially when close to the ground.
Among the concerns expressed by a brand-new student pilot I was talking with recently was what I took to be a strong fear of stalls. I didn’t have the opportunity to ask him where he learned stalls should be feared. I did, however, relate they were important but—at least when understood—weren’t anything to fear. Which is not to say they shouldn’t be respected.
288
CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT
Sign up to keep reading
Create a free account to continue. Already a member? Sign in below.
