But I think (very!) slow flight, a couple knots above stall, and how the aircraft feels, sounds and behaves at those speeds, is something one needs to remind oneself of periodically, don't you think?
absolutely, I never said one should forget about it. I practice slow flight a lot on solo, as you said, flaps up, just a few knots above stalling speed, ball in the centre, maintaining altitude and initial heading, then doing 30 degrees bank angle turn to the left and right, and level the wings on a precise heading. nothing extraordinary. it just requires focus and coordination.
Also, performing the recovery well, with minimum height loss and maximum control, is less easy than performing it at all...
again, i agree, you shouldn't lose more than 100 feet when recovering from a power off stall.
I don't agree that PFL's are so easy that they don't need practiced either.
I never said that they don't need practice. In my case, I practice those only with an instructor. I have done this many times with an instructor on board, many times with winds over 25 kts, I have always made my field. But as you said, you may be so focused that you will not see those power lines, whereas with an instructor on board, he would have pointed it to you. Or you may forget to warm your engine every 500' and get a surprise on the go-around (it happened to a student last month).
I can definitely judge my performance, but I think an instructor will always be a better judge. It's not a question of being scared or not confident. It's a question of being sure that I do things right, and that I don't catch bad habits while training solo.
That's each and everyone's personnal choice to decide to practice those manoeuvers solo or with an instructor.