Slow Flight, Stalls - Audio/Text
I have control... (Student says “You have control.”)
Before we do these maneuvers we clear the area with the CALL check…
The C stands for no loose articles, harness and canopies are secure…
The A stands for altitude…enough to do our maneuver…
The L stands for location…Not overhead the airfield or any built-up areas…
The last L stands for lookout and some clearing S-turns…
You have control... (Student says “I have control.”)
First turn to the right…Remember the lookout…
Clear all around?…
Now do the lookout for a turn to the left…
Clear?…
Now roll the aircraft to the same angle of bank to the left…
Clear all around?…
Good…Return to straight and level flight…
Now, raise the nose until it just touches the horizon…
This is the slow flight attitude…
Notice that your are having to hold it in this position, so re-trim…
Now let’s try some gentle turns in slow flight…
Remember the lookout…
Notice that the controls are sluggish and more work has to be done with the rudder pedals…
Try another turn in the opposite direction…
Now let’s return to straight and level flight…
Gently raise the nose above the horizon now…
Notice the glider shudders…this is the stall…now the nose goes down…
Lower the nose a bit further and the glider increases speed…
Now gently raise the nose back to the horizon but not beyond…
As the speed returns to normal lower the nose to the normal gliding attitude…
Sometime the glider nose does not drop during the stall but there is still a high sink rate…
Beware of this mushing stall…Look for the signs of the stall…
A nose high attitude, stick held back, slow control response, a quiet cockpit, low airspeed, and high sink rates…
Recovery is the same in all cases...
Lower the nose…recover from the shallow dive…don’t raise the nose above the horizon…return to the normal gliding attitude…