Serious wing drop at stall
It is generally well known that some Cessna 150/152 aircraft exhibit a marked wing drop at point of stall with full flap down and a trickle of power. This assumes a balanced flight entry. In fact mis-rigging can also cause a savage wing drop even with idle power and flaps up.
Some say that this is a good thing, because it teaches wing drop recovery technique. This disregards the fact that modern trainers are not supposed to drop wings at point of stall.
It is my understanding that at certification for these and similar types, the maximum wing drop at the stall should be no more than 15 degrees whether a clean or dirty stall configuration.
So, if the stall entry is accurately flown (no skid and wings level), and yet the wing drops suddenly without prior warning beyond (say) 20 degrees, should the maintenance log be endorsed that the aircraft is un-airworthy?
Obviously there is a safety issue here. When students are authorised for solo stall recovery practice, or even first solo circuits, is it too much to expect that the aircraft should exhibit safe stalling characteristics commensurate with that expected during type certifcation tests?
While to an experienced pilot, a sudden unexpected savage wing drop at point of stall might be good fun in the hack-flick-zoom department, it can be thoroughly frightening for a student pilot who might just happen to hold off high during landing.
The discussion is about sudden and unexpected wing drop at the instant of stall. Of course all bets are off if the pilot deliberately holds back stick after the aircraft has stalled, where a wing drop may well occur.
Is it agreed that instructors who teach stall recoveries have a duty of care responsibility to write up an inappropriate wing drop, and to ensure the aircraft is not flown again until a rigging check is carried out and the aircraft further test flown before students are permitted to fly it.
The question is therefore, what would you define as an inappropriate wing drop?