Enter and Recover from a Power off Stall in a Cessna 150
A stall is a loss of lift and increase in drag; this occurs when an aircraft is flown at an angle of attack greater than the angle for maximum lift. This in simple terms in when you are flying too slow and you have the nose pitched up too high and as you keep pitching the nose up and losing airspeed the wings stall.
When an aircraft stalls, the plane starts to sink and loose altitude rapidly, accompanied by the nose dropping.
Contents
Steps
- Before performing any advanced upper air work what’s known as a HASEL (or the 4 A's check) check should always be completed. H-Height, you want to be at a safe altitude to ensure that you can recover in time, by law you are supposed to have recovered by 2000’ AGL (Above Ground Level). A-Area, you want to be in a safe rural, unpopulated location. S-Security, Seat belts secure, doors secure, check for loose items in the baggage area. E-Engine, you want to make sure your fuel is on, mixture full rich, carb heat on/hot, gauges green. L-Lookout, do a complete lookout all around you with 180 degree turns and look above and below you to make sure there is no other traffic around you.
- Pull power smoothly to idle. Avoid abrupt pull back to avoid harm to engine.
- The nose will want to drop, maintain altitude and attitude by pitching back on the controls.
- Continue pitching back through the slow flight range, and gradually increase back pressure while stall horns starts to sound.
- Once you get to the point of the stall the nose will drop and you will start to rapidly lose altitude, you are stalled.
- The nose of the airplane will tend to yaw quite a bit, control all yaw with rudder, and absolutely no aileron control, ailerons always neutral!
- Slowly ease the nose down to break the stall and start gaining airspeed.
- Wait for airspeed to climb back into the green zone.
- Once airspeed is in green, simultaneously regain straight and level flight and add full power.
- Climb back to original altitude, trim if necessary.
Tips
- It will be a natural reaction for the pilot to use ailerons if there is a wing drop, this is a mistake and should not be done. Ailerons should always be neutral and all yaw should controlled with rudder.
- If you look at the picture you will notice the bottom of the green arc on the airspeed indicator, this is your stall speed.
- Stall Speed of Cessna 150= 47 Knots.
- Always control yaw with rudder! ( to keep the plane straight).
Warnings
- Stalls are only performed intentionally for training so that the pilot can recognize, identify and recover. Proper recovery is important if an unintended stall should ever occur.
