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Moose Turns

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The risk of a stall-spin accident in low-altitude turns is significantly higher with shallow banks than steep banks, often resulting from cross-controlled stalls due to pilot misjudgment of turn rate and instinctive control inputs.
  • Invisible turbulence near the ground presents an unpredictable threat by instantaneously altering a wing's angle of attack, necessitating careful speed management and avoidance of known turbulent areas.
  • Even experienced pilots are vulnerable to low-altitude errors; continuous proficiency in ground-reference maneuvers is crucial, as AOA indicators offer limited real-time utility in critical, turbulent scenarios.
See a mistake? Contact us.

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:

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