Light Aircraft Emergency Procedures

Stall and Recovery

The modern aircraft  of today are very reliable. However  things do from time to time go wrong. 

 The Causes of Stalling

This is normally caused by bad pilot handling. A light aeroplane has a very low stall speed. This speed will vary with weight, temperature and how far the aeroplane is banked in a turn. Flaps help to reduce the stall speed. Every aircraft's stall speed will be different. The two most likely times that an aeroplane will stall is on climbing, or turning onto final approach as the aircraft will be flying slower. Both of these can be prevented if the pilot pays attention to his airspeed, attitude and bank angle. Remember the more bank in the turn the more risk of stalling.

If the pilot climbs too steeply and gets too much angle of attack in the wing it will  eventually stall. Pilots should not allow the airspeed to drop below 55 knots in the climb. If it does then the pilot must lower the nose to allow the airspeed to increase. (Stall means a loss of lift and the aeroplane will lose height rapidly. If near the ground the aircraft could crash.) If the aircraft drops a wing in the stall it will also spin. The climb out on take off for the Cessna 182 is 65 knots initially ,and the best climb speed is 80 knots. If you remember your speeds you should not stall. 
At slow speed no more than 15 degrees of bank should be applied.

Recognizing the Stall

 As you get near the stall the controls will be less effective the airspeed will start to drop and the stall warning will sound. If you are in a stall the Vertical Speed Indicator will be showing descent the stall warning going and the altimeter decreasing. Note also the high pitch angle of the aircraft.

Recover from the Stall

Recover from the stall by getting the wings level and pushing the joystick forward. Apply full power. Let the airspeed build up to 65 knots and then pull the stick back and level the aircraft.

 Practice Training

To practice stall recovery climb to 4500 ft level off the aircraft, close the throttle, as the aircraft slows  keep pulling the stick back  trying to stop the aircraft losing height. Retrim the aircraft.  The stall warning will go off watch your altimeter and VSI start descending. When this happens then push your joystick forward gently and apply full power, get your airspeed up again, then level the aircraft as soon as you get to 65 knots. Now look at the altimeter and see how much height you lost. With skill you can recover in about 100ft. 

Prevention is better than cure for your safety learn this and be alert to airspeed at all times.