Flight Schools

Flight Hrs: 1.7 / Total Hrs: 6.9
Aircraft: C-172 / Airport: KGEG

I’m so glad to back in the comfort of a C-172. Honestly, that 152 was just a little small for me and my CFI. I’m 185 lbs and he’s 200 lbs. We were shoulder to shoulder and I just felt like I was a little more vulnerable in a plane that small. Truth is, I’m not. But, there’s something in my head that says “bigger is better”. I can’t imagine being at one of the flight schools that only offer C-152’s.

Well, it’s that dreaded day. We’ve talked about it from the my very first lesson and I’ve dreaded the thought of it. Everyone has to do it and I’m not going to get out of it….

Stalls!

First of all, I think it’s important that I explain what a stall IS NOT. Most people think of a stall and they can only compare it to their car. When your car stalls, it means the engine died and you’re stuck in the middle of traffic. Not so with an airplane.

In an airplane, a stall is when the air flowing around a wing is so disrupted that you no longer have enough lift to keep the plane airborne. Obviously, this isn’t a good thing.

So, today we purposely caused our airplane to not be able to fly while we were several thousand feet up in the air. Sounds stupid if you ask me, but we did it and I’m here to write about it so something went right. The purpose of this ridiculous exercise is to learn what a stall feels like and, more importantly, what the onset of a stall feels like so you can hopefully avoid them.

We were about 5500′ MSL, which is 3000′ above the ground. That’s when we did our first stall. It’s called a power on stall and it’s supposed to simulate what could happen while taking off if you increase your angle of attack too much. We started our climb at 80 kts and then continued to pull the yoke back until we heard that dreaded buzzer and knew the inevitable was about to happen.

The nose was pointed up at a very steep angle and all we could see was sky. Then the buzzer sounded (or stall warning) and woosh, the nose suddenly pitched down and all we could see was the ground. It happens so fast, you don’t really have time to get scared much. The most important thing is to remember to watch your wings so you can “step on the raising wing”. This is what keeps you from going into a spin. Basically, you press the rudder on the wing that is rising. Don’t confuse that with the wing that is higher. Sometimes the higher wing is the one that’s descending.

Next was power off stalls. These are meant to simulate what can happen when you’re coming in to land and you enter a stall. For this one, we slowed the plane down to an approach speed of about 65 kts at about 1500 rpms. We had full flaps and we were at about a 300-500′ descent. This is the perfect set up for a short final approach.

The next thing we did was stupid, but we were supposed to do it. We pulled back on the yoke and brought the nose up again. The plane slowed down considerably and I watched the airspeed indicator drop below 40 kts. It wasn’t long after this we heard that stall warning buzzer go off.

Again we were at a very steep incline and all I could see was the sky. The buzzer goes and within a couple of seconds all I can see is the ground. I kept the wings level and we didn’t go into a spin. When you have your flaps fully extended, you need to immediately bring them back 10 degrees and give it full throttle. Then you bring the plane back to level flight, but you have to be careful to not put it into a secondary stall. So you pull back slowly.

We did both of these a few more times and honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. It almost seems like the whole process is normal. I was so scared before today, but now I think it’s pretty cool. I actually enjoyed it and was sorry when it was over.

Steep Turns

The next things was steep turns. These actually had me a little worried too. I remember the first time I was up in the air on my discovery flight. Every time the plane would tilt to the side, I had this horrible feeling we were going to fall out of the sky. Those turns were only about 20 degrees in either direction. Today we were going to go to 45 degrees and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

We did a 360 degree turn to the right and then went immediately back to a 360 degree turn to the left. Basically, we did a figure eight with the plane at a 45 degree angle. The first thing I noticed was how difficult it is to keep the plane from losing altitude. I was pulling back with all my might on that yoke and we still were losing altitude.

After the first time through, my CFI said, “I like to use the trim a little when I do steep turns”. Well, DUH! Of course. When you use the elevator trim, you don’t need to excerpt at much force on the yoke to keep the plane level. I did 3 quick swipes of the trim and the plane was nice and level. Now all I had to focus on was keeping us at a 45 degree angle and watching my heading indicator so I could switch back into the other direction for another 360 degree turn. Wow… I LOVE that trim!

Today was great. I really crossed some huge hurdles. I was dreading stalls and now I love them. Also, I was able to do a steep turn without feeling like I was going to fall out of the airplane. I still got a little dizzy, but I didn’t slide out of my side and the door didn’t fly open.

I know I have to demonstrate stalls for my check-ride, but my CFI says I never have to practice them in a solo situation. Some do, but I think I won’t.

My next lesson is going to include engine failures. After today, I can handle that one.