Moose Turns

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Monday, May 24, 2021 at 01:17 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The author contends that stall-spins during low-altitude turns (e.g., base-to-final) are often triggered by pilots attempting to maintain a shallow bank, misjudging turn rate, and reflexively slowing down, arguing that a shallow bank surprisingly increases spin risk compared to a steeper 45-degree bank.
Invisible turbulence near the ground, particularly on sunny, breezy days, poses a significant and unpredictable hazard, capable of instantaneously altering a wing's angle of attack, inducing stalls, or even inverting an aircraft.
To mitigate these risks, pilots are encouraged to attain skill and currency in ground-reference maneuvers, as even very experienced pilots are susceptible to these low-altitude errors, and managing turbulence requires appropriate speed and avoidance.

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I love Aviation Safety, and actually read it. The May 2021 article, “Moose Stalls,” echoes a difficulty also seen in soaring, the stall-spin in the turn from base to final, where the glider is closest to the ground.

Your box on page 5, “Steep Turns, Low To The Ground,” implies that the danger is angle of bank. While stall speed increases with bank angle, a steep bank actually decreases the risk of a spin. There is a greater risk of spinning with a shallow bank close to the ground. This is pretty well understood in soaring. Here’s the mechanism: