Originally Posted by
machtuk
I find it amazing that the stall recovery debate comes up constantly over the years with varying techniques for recovery. Even some academics cant decide on how lift is actually produced so how the hell do we expect anyone to know stall recovery? After nearly 40 years driving planes from low powered SE's to heavy jets & thousands of hours I've not once stalled a plane accidently or put myself in a position where it's likely, only a few times during early training & even then it was a quick basic let it all go & fly away, at Alt of course. The above video says it all, very steep AoB, loading up the wing by pulling back on the stick whilst maneuvering close to the ground, all of which should never have been done in the first place, that's just poor handling & little knowledge of what NOT to do! Today's modern planes with good overall training don't need to be flying near the stall at all. Correct handling doesn't mean you should know how to get out of a stall it means don't put yourself in that position in the first place! Turning onto final at low Alt is not the time to test your abilities to recover from a stall no matter how you reckon its done, most wont survive, avoidance is your best insurance!
People continue to stall and to spin. Particularly following engine failures or partial failures low to the ground, or when operating low to the ground skud running, particularly in strong winds. Many times you hear eye witness reports of accidents where they describe the aircraft dropping nose low and/or turning steeply and hitting the ground.
I believe teaching people stalling is not so much that they can recover if they accidentally stall but so they are familiar with the situations it can happen in and will recognise when they are putting in inputs that are leading to a stall/spin and will avoid continuing with those inputs.
I also think it should be taught so they are comfortable with the aircraft and don't fear it. Every now and then I come across pilots who fly unnecessary high speed approaches with corresponding long floats, clumsy landings and wasted runway and and when I query them they say they are scared of stalling so keep the speed up. Recently I had a pilot who pretty much dived the aircraft onto final, increasing speed for the base-final turn, fearful that he might stall in a turn low to the ground.
I think we should be teaching people good hand skills and proper flying techniques, rather than dumbing things down and teaching people to drive the aeroplane, to never have the opportunity to learn and experience from outside 'normal' situations and to be fearful of what might happen if things move outside their comfortable cocoon of 'normal' flight.
Stalling and low speed flight is part of that. I really believe that taught properly stalling should not be a scary or uncomfortable process - it should not be a big deal and should result in the pilot feeling more in control, more confident and understanding more about the aircraft and should give them an intuitive feel for when they are pushing the limits and what will happen if they continue. I think that stalling is often taught poorly because the instructor was taught poorly and so is not comfortable with stalling (I think that is far more common than instructors who want to show off to the student).