Since the beginning of flight, pilots have stalled the wings of their airplanes. Sometimes this was intentional; oftentimes it was by accident. Some of those stalls resulted in mishaps, especially if they occurred close to the ground.
Anxiety
Those mishaps are the reason we practice stalls and stall recoveries. Our objectives in performing these intentional stalls are to become familiar with the conditions that produce stalls, learn how to recognize an approaching stall, and develop the habit of taking prompt preventive or corrective action. Stall recovery training causes anxiety in some student pilots. Some of this anxiety is warranted, given the potentially serious consequences of stalls. Unfortunately, a lot of stall "knowledge" is based upon half-truths, hangar gossip, and movies that show airplanes plunging toward the Earth while spinning out of control.
Nevertheless, if you're like most people, you'll probably feel a little out of control the moment that nose pitches over for the very first time. Since learning is hindered when you're anxious, learning to deal with this anxiety is one of the first steps toward learning stall recovery. And that comes through complete and accurate knowledge, understanding, and confidence.
Misconceptions
So let's dispel two of the common misconceptions about stalls right now. The first one is that a stall is somehow related to engine failure. On the contrary, an aerodynamic stall has nothing to do with the engine. The engine doesn't quit when you stall an airplane, and you don't lose engine power. The second misconception is that somehow the airplane becomes uncontrollable in a stall and enters a dive. That only happens in Hollywood. Think of the paper airplane example. The little glider recovered, all by itself, without any pilot input and without engine power. The simple truth is that a stall occurs when the smooth airflow over the airplane's wing is disrupted and the lift degenerates rapidly. This happens when the wing exceeds its critical angle of attack, which is the angle at which the chord line of the wing-a line passing through the wing from leading edge to trailing edge-intersects the relative wind. This can occur at any airspeed, in any attitude, and with any power setting.
To rectify the situation, all you have to do is to reduce the angle of attack below the critical angle. This gets the air flowing smoothly over the top of the wing. In addition, adding power will reduce the altitude loss during the recovery; this is taught as an integral part of the recovery process, but it is not required. Reducing the angle of attack by lowering the pitch attitude is what really gets the wing flying again.
Primacy
But before you go out and start practicing stalls and stall recoveries, it's critical that you learn and use the correct procedures the very first time. This, all flight instructors are taught, is called the law of primacy. It means that what is learned first is best remembered. As with any flight maneuver, it's crucial that you learn the correct recovery procedures from the beginning. That's because you're trying to replace instinctive reactions (like pulling back on the yoke when the airplane is going down) with trained reactions that become habit (like lowering the nose to regain flying airspeed, even at low altitudes).
Before beginning any stall training, make sure you get a thorough ground briefing detailing the objectives of the lesson, the manufacturer's recommended procedures for the airplane you'll be flying, and the standards that your instructor is looking for. By the way, the standards for all maneuvers -- including stalls -- are located in the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards, which can be found in the AOPA Flight Training Online library.
Before getting into the airplane, talk with your instructor about what kind of sensations you will experience, including the sometimes-large changes in pitch attitude. Also, make sure you discuss the procedures to be used in case the airplane enters a spin or other unusual flight attitude during stall recovery practice. An outstanding description of stalls and stall procedures can be found in the FAA's Airplane Flying Handbook. And, keep in mind that the real goal is not to learn how stall an airplane, but to recognize an approaching or imminent stall by inducing such a stall under controlled conditions and taking prompt corrective action.
Recognition
Besides knowing the flight conditions that bring on stalls, and the proper corrective actions, you should also be learning how to recognize an approaching stall by sight, sound, and feel. An airplane communicates its aerodynamic condition by sight, sound, and feel. You just need to be receptive to its cues.
For example, vision is useful in detecting an approaching stall condition by noting the pitch attitude of the airplane. However, because a stall can occur at any pitch attitude, vision can only be relied on when the stall is the result of an unusual attitude of the airplane. Nevertheless, if the nose is high relative to the airplane's flight path, the airplane may be approaching a stall.
Hearing is also helpful in sensing an approaching stall. In the early days of aviation, aviators flew in open-cockpit airplanes. They heard the sound of the air rushing past. They heard the whistle of eddies from the air swirling past the wing struts and flying wires. If the airplane slowed down, they knew about it immediately; they didn't need an airspeed indicator to tell them their airspeed was decreasing.
Today we have noise-canceling headsets that insulate us from these cues. If you have a chance, try practicing a few power-off stalls without wearing headsets (and with the windows open, if limitations in the pilot's operating handbook allow). You'll be amazed at what you can hear. You'll be able to hear the engine clearly, and the reduction of slipstream noise as the airspeed decays; you will be able to sense the approaching stall long before the stall warning horn blares.
One more sense you should pay attention to is your sense of kinesthesia, or the sensing of changes in direction or speed of motion. Commonly known as "seat of the pants" feel, it is probably the best indicator to the trained and experienced pilot. If this sensitivity is properly developed, it will warn of a decrease in speed or the beginning of a settling or mushing of the airplane.
You might also feel the airplane start to buffet or vibrate just before the stall. You may feel this in the control yoke or through the airframe. This is a result of the turbulent, tumbling airflow over the top of the wing striking the tail surfaces. Finally, pay attention to the feel of the controls during your stall practice. As airspeed is reduced, the resistance to pressures on the controls becomes progressively less. You'll find that the lag between your movements and the airplane's response becomes greater and that it takes more control movement to induce a response.
Even if you miss all of these clues, all modern airplanes have stall-warning indicators. While they are valuable, the reason for practicing stalls is to learn to recognize stalls without the benefit of warning devices.
The big picture
In your training, you'll be asked to demonstrate stalls with power on and power off, while flying straight and level, and while turning. Although the exact entry procedures vary for each airplane and with the type of stall you're going to demonstrate, they all begin with one common step: to slow down (to a safe maneuvering speed) and configure. So don't get lost in the details. The "big picture" is this: Check for traffic, slow down, lower flaps and landing gear if required, add bank if required, stall the airplane, and recover. That's it.
If you're practicing an approach-to-landing stall, for example, you'll configure the airplane for landing. If you're practicing a departure or power-on stall, you'll configure the airplane for takeoff. Likewise, while the exact stall recovery procedures vary slightly for each airplane, they all have a few fundamental elements. First, reduce the angle of attack. Second, add maximum available power. These first two actions should be taken simultaneously. Third, return to straight and level flight. You may then have to "clean up" the airplane by retracting the flaps and landing gear if they were lowered previously.
To practice stalls, begin by climbing to a safe maneuvering altitude. Next, as with any maneuver, perform some clearing turns to check for other traffic. Start with the easiest and least unsettling type of stall. This is a straight-ahead stall, without bank. Once those are mastered, you may want to try some stalls without using power for recovery, just like the paper airplane. This will help you to become more comfortable with stalls. And a comfortable pilot is more likely to take decisive, deliberate, and timely actions. An uncomfortable pilot can resemble a cook in a kitchen trying to put out a fire, hastily grabbing for throttle, gear, and flaps.
Flying/not flying
When you practice "no power added" stalls, try this "flying/not flying" exercise. It will show you how small changes in the angle of attack move the wing between unstalled and stalled flight.
Begin by climbing 1,000 feet above a minimum safe altitude and clearing the area. If you wish, your instructor can temporarily cover the flight instruments so you can focus your attention on the visual, audible, and kinesthetic cues associated with stall practice. If desired, remove your headset (and open the windows, if that's an option) to hear the airflow better. Set up a long glide with partial or idle power. (Use carburetor heat according to the POH and remember to clear the engine frequently.)
Next, slowly raise the pitch attitude until the wing is on the verge of a stall and then recover by lowering the pitch attitude just a few degrees. Keep the wings level using the rudder. You should be able to feel the mushy, sluggish ailerons when making roll inputs. You should also be able to feel the authority of the rudder by making small rudder inputs. After you've sampled the feel and effects of the controls, raise the pitch attitude quickly enough to induce a full stall and then release it. You should be able to definitely feel when the wing is "flying" versus "not flying." This is especially notable in the aileron response. When the wing is stalled, the ailerons are noticeably ineffective.
Now lower the flaps and repeat the exercise to see the difference in pitch attitudes with the flaps deployed. Recover from the exercise at or above the minimum safe altitude. This exercise clearly demonstrates that the elevator and rudder, along with power, are your primary controls when responding to a stall.
Common problems
Two common problems that students experience with stall recoveries are that they are too aggressive with the ailerons and they don't use enough rudder.
At slow airspeeds and high angles of attack, the ailerons become mushy and ineffective, a result of the disrupted airflow over the top of the wing. In fact, aggressive aileron usage during stall recoveries can exacerbate roll control difficulties by stalling the outboard section of the wing and causing adverse yaw.
In contrast, the rudder is very effective throughout the stall regime. It can be used to "lift" a wing that is beginning to roll off. For example, if you feel the wing starting to bank left, quickly apply some right rudder pressure -- this will stop the yaw that caused the wing to drop, and bring the wing back to level.
By eliminating yaw and keeping the flight controls coordinated, this technique will prevent a spin from developing. You'll find this technique works especially well in airplanes with good rudder authority.
No worries
No matter what type of stalls you want to practice -- straight-ahead stalls, turning stalls, power-on or power-off stalls -- they all have the same recovery. Reduce the angle of attack, add power, and return to straight-and-level flight. If a little paper airplane can recover from a stall, you should have no worries in a bigger aluminum or composite one. Fly safe.
Christopher L. Parker is a CFI and an aviation author, speaker, and FAA remedial training specialist. He is captain of a Canadair Challenger business jet based in Van Nuys, California.
