I prefer doing long controlled mush descents instead of classic stalls
because it provides more of the really valuable part of the stall practice,
experience with the aircraft at absolute minimum airspeed. Today I rode our
172 N down about 2000 feet with the yoke full back and the airspeed on the
bottom peg. I was able to make gradual heading changes and rock the wings up
and down with the rudder pedals. This is super practice compared to the
fleeting moments of wallow you get in the textbook stall.

I looked at the VSI and realized that my descent rate was within the range
of a Cirrus with the BRS deployed. Of course, the Cirrus under its parachute
wouldn't have had my 40 knots or so of forward speed to be absorbed by
seatbelts and my face against the glare shield. The real value of the Cirrus
system is the elimination of that forward motion and the rugged seats and
airframe. However, deploying it in a 40 knot wind could change the
horizontal motion part of that.

Still, it demonstrates that flying a conventional plane in distress all the
way to the ground provides lots of options for impact reduction. If I'd gone
into treetops in the dark like that, I think I would have had a good chance
of walking home.

--
Roger Long