Slow Flight

Robert M. Gary wrote:
On Sep 8, 11:03 am, Ol Shy & Bashful wrote:
There is little doubt in my mind that the ability to do slow flight at
the very edge of stall speed will do more to prevent accidents than
1000 hours of cruise speed flight. Is there anyone here who is
proficient that lands their aircraft more than 10kts above stall
speed?
I teach all my students to slow fly with the entire range of
configurations for the particular aircraft they are flying. Gear up/
down, flaps up/down/in-between. I want them to be comfortable flying
at the very edge of the stall speeds and spend a lot of time
maneuvering right on the edge of a stall "nibble". It does more for
pilot confidence and ability than anything else I can think of. They
learn proper control useage and how their particular aircraft responds
while in the low speed areas. Playing with different angles of bank
while at low speeds and flying with a modicum of accuracy does a lot
for proper control use.
If you think about it, how many accidents occur in the low speed
spectrum? Either from a stall, or from a high sink rate on approach,
or poor control use during an emergency or off airport landing, or
something similar?
In my opinion, the pilot who is comfortable throughout the entire
speed range of their aircraft is a properly trained pilot and one who
will not get into an inadvertant stall, or spin.
What are your thoughts?

I agree with you on the importance of slow flight but for a slightly
different reason. I think slow flight and stalls end up being seen by
student's as more of a rite-of-passage more than anything else. My
approach is to place an intense concentration on the indicators of
stall in their aircraft (stall horn, sloppy ailerons, buffeting, nose
drop, more buffet, then break). Therefore, I see slow flight more as a
way to ensure that students have enough experience with these
sensations to recognize them when they need to. In addition, I think
most CFI's teach slow flight at WAY to high of a speed. If the student
doesn't accidently stall on occasion its almost guaranteed that their
slow flight is too fast. In your standard Cessna/Piper type products
the plane should be bucking like a wild horse during slow flight.

I also approach slow flight and stall in this manner.

On the "right of passage" issue;
I believe instructors should be specifically tuned into this issue and
address it as 101 with every student they teach.
The mindset that learning to fly is simply to surmount the obstacles
placed in front of the student then reach out and accept the PPL is a
concept that I personally would like to see driven out of aviation.
Instructors should from the first meeting with a new student,make every
effort possible to down play the "steeping stones" required on the way
to the PPL and instead impart on the student the critical importance
connected with the actual learning involved.
The problem with the "right of passage" mindset is that students and
instructors alike have a tendency to consider these "accomplishments" as
the pinnacle of the learning curve for the area affected with learning
decreasing on the backside of that subject's pinnacle as learning on the
next required "step" proceeds.

Learning to fly an airplane is a process that begins the first day you
climb into an airplane and ends as you take the last breath of your
life. If you have been taught properly by a good CFI, there is a very
good chance that this last moment and breath you take as the learning
stops won't be in an airplane.


--
Dudley Henriques